Justice has been served. Photo: SAPS

Justice has been served. Two Western Cape men have been sentenced to life in prison for attacking a teenage girl and a little girl, respectively. The sentences have been welcomed by the police.

16-Year-old girl
On 15 October Gareth Pretorius (21) was sentenced to life in prison for rape and attempted murder. Pretorius dragged a 16-year-old girl into the bushes in Knysna in June this year. In a strange coincidence the attack also took place on the 15th. Having dragged the girl into the bushes Pretorius stabbed her three times in the chest with a broken bottle head. He then raped her and left her for dead.

Five-year-old girl
In an unrelated incident Bongani Dlamini (32) murdered a five-year-old girl in Nkanini, Khayelitsha, on 1 March last year. Her body was found four days later in a plastic bag next to his shack. DNA that linked Dlamini to the murdered girl was found inside his shack. Two days ago (17 October) Dlamini was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and kidnapping of the little girl.

Police welcome the sentences
According to police spokesperson Constable Noloyiso Rwexana the management of the police in the Western Cape welcome these two sentences and commend the police members who worked tirelessly to put these two violent criminals away for a long time. “The annual 16 Days Campaign against Violence on Women and Children is about to kick off and the police’s message to those who rape and kill innocent women and children is clear: Hands off!”