Middelburg court finds 32-year-old man guilty of statutory rape
The victim (who cannot be named due to the nature of the charges) testified that she and Thabethe had sex several times.
In his plea, Thabethe told the court that he was in a consensual relationship with the victim, and also formally admitted that she was 13 years old at the time of the offence.
He denied they had sex multiple times and said they only had sex once.
The victim testified that she met Thabethe in 2023, when he was visiting a friend in the same street as her. She said he asked if they could date, and she told him she was only 13 and was too young. Thabethe allegedly told the girl her age didn't matter to him.
The victim's parents pleaded with Thabethe to stay away from their daughter due to her age. When they realised their plea had fallen on deaf ears, they opened a case with the police. Thabethe was then arrested.
He testified to the court that he was under the impression the victim was 19 years old, as per her Facebook profile. The victim replied by saying that she only wrote that she was 19 so she could open a Facebook account.
Magistrate Deon Minnie stated that when the victim testified, she appeared to be a child under the age of 16, and did not give off the impression that she was older. 'This was so obvious that it must have been the same impression the accused had of the child's age as well,' he said.
He added that any reasonable person, under these circumstances, would have at least taken the steps to confirm the victim's real age despite her appearance, in light of knowing that having sexual relations with a person under 16 is an offence.
Thabethe was found guilty on the charge of statutory rape. It was stated that he was negligent for failing to enquire about exactly how old the girl was.
The matter was postponed to August for sentencing.
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