Durban - The Gauteng High Court brought the hammer down hard on a sadistic serial rapist who sexually assaulted 16 women, six of which were minors, between 2017 and 2018 in and around the Caletonville area, in West Rand.
Thirty-six-year-old Tshitso Mothesele, from Khutsong, was sentenced to eight life sentences and 195 years for 15 counts of rape, 8 counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping.
Motshesele’s youngest victim was an 11-year-old, according to NPA Gauteng spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana. His oldest victim was 35- years-old.
Mahajana said he used the same modus operandi on all victims. Mothesele would wait for them to exit public transport vehicles, drag them to a nearby bush, rape them, and rob them of their personal items.
After a phone he had stolen from one of the victims was traced to a lady in Khutsong, whom Mothesele sold the phone to, police managed to track him down. Mothesele was arrested on December 15, 2018.
“The accused was later linked to the offences by DNA, but Mothesele pleaded not guilty to the offences and attacked the credibility of the Forensic Science Laboratory in court. However, prosecutor Advocate Alicia Roos successfully proved that he was the donor of the DNA to the victims,” Mahajansa explained.
One of the state’s witnesses against Mothesel, a Lieutenant Colonel in the SAPS Investigative Psychology division, told the presiding judge he was a serial rapist that showed no remorse.
He said Mothesele had no prospect of being rehabilitated. Ross also pointed out that he was a second time offender.
Victims describing their ordeal said they suffered immensely from the abuse, with one having marital problems, another performing poorly at school, and one even resorting to drugs as a coping mechanism.
IOL