Man gets life for raping teen

2012-03-06 10:34

Wolfram Zwecker, Beeld

Johannesburg - The man dubbed the MXit rapist was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Benoni Regional Court on Monday.

Magistrate Ian Cox said David Heath Coughlan, 28, had deviously lured a 15-year-old girl to his house where he raped her before fleeing.

To date, he has shown no sign of remorse or given any indication of taking responsibility for his actions, and there was no other option but to send Coughlan to jail for life, Cox said.

Coughlan stared straight ahead and occasionally shook his head when disagreeing with Cox.

Child pornography

He was sentenced to a further five years imprisonment for possession of child pornography, which was found on his computer. The two sentences would not be served concurrently.

The girl’s parents were visibly relieved and said they were satisfied with the sentence.

“It was terrible for my daughter and for us and it wrecked us emotionally and financially,” said the mother outside court.

In his verdict, Cox pointed out that the girl was receiving psychological help and had undergone behavioural changes.

Coughlan met her in July 2010 on the chat service MXit and began a friendship with her.

After sentencing, Coughlan ran quickly down the steps to the court cells without greeting his parents.

An application for leave to appeal against the verdict and sentencing would be heard next week.
 

- Beeld