Ladybrand police in the east of Bloemfontein say they are concerned by the increased incidents of child rape in the area and sentences need to be tougher.

This comes after the Ladybrand Regional Court successfully convicted and sentenced a Lesotho citizen to 20 years imprisonment for the rape of a 15-year-old girl near a dump site in Ladybrand last year. The man was sentenced on Monday.

The girl was walking home from a local primary school in Manyatseng, near Ladybrand with her 11-year-old brother when the incident took place. They were walking along the dump site when they met Motlatsi Sello.

He produced a knife and chased the boy away and later used it to stab the girl in her shoulder. He then undressed the girl and raped her.

Police spokesperson Lt-Col Annelie Wrensch said: “When he was done he went away and left the victim there. She managed to walk home and reported the matter to her mother.

“Cops were called and a rape case was opened.

“Two days after the incident the victim recognised the rapist at one of the neighbouring farms and informed her mother.”

Wrensch said the mother called the police and they immediately arrested Sello.

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