3 guilty of rape, not sodomy
2006-05-31 16:11
Nelspruit - Three men accused of knocking a woman unconscious and then raping and sodomising her were found guilty on Wednesday, but only on the rape charge.
They were found guilty in the Nelspruit circuit of Pretoria High Court.
Judge Nico Coetzee ruled that the rape was the primary motive for the attack, and that the assault was to subdue her. The State withdrew the indecent assault charge.
He asked for social workers' reports on the state of the woman and the men to help him determine a suitable sentence.
He noted that the men were 17 and 22 at the time of the attack.
Positively identified all three
The men are Phulani Ngwenya, who is now 19, and Shadrack Bhuti Nkosi and Solomon Vusi Msibi, both now 24.
They attacked the woman on February 20 2004. She was bashed on the head with a stone before being raped.
The doctor's report showed she had severe injuries to her larynx, as well as all over the head and that she was unable to move her jaw.
She positively identified all three men, because she knew them from the community.