Publications
- In 2020, Amos Thulani Khumalo raped a minor girl, and attempted to rape another before she managed to escape.
- At the time of the incident, Khumalo was out on parole.
- After pleading guilty, Khumalo was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday.
A 47-year-old man, who kidnapped two minor girls, took them to a hotel in Pretoria, and raped one before the other escaped and alerted security guards, was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty.
Amos Thulani Khumalo appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of a 13-year-old girl and eight years in prison for the attempted rape of an 11-year-old girl.
On 20 November 2020, the two minors were walking home from the shops in Sausville, Atteridgeville, when they were accosted by Khumalo.
He forced the girls into his vehicle and took them to a liquor store in Pretoria West before booking into a hotel in the CBD.
"The children refused, but he went to buy alcohol for himself. He then took them to [a] Pretoria Hotel, where he booked a room. He told the receptionist that the minor children were his children and that he would sleep on the floor," National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.
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"When they got to the room, he assaulted them, proceeded to rape the 13-year-old and attempted to rape the 11-year-old.
"The 11-year-old got an opportunity to escape. He chased and caught up with her, but a security guard had already heard her scream. Khumalo was apprehended by security, handed over to the police and arrested on the same day."
Parolee
To make matters worse, at the time of the incident, Khumalo was out on parole after having previously been convicted and sentenced for rape.
News24 previously reported that Khumalo started serving his seven-year sentence for rape on 11 June 2012 and was subsequently placed on parole on 19 December 2017.
The accused's sentence was set to expire on 8 May 2021 due to an addition of 698 days for a parole break. It is not known what the parole violation was.
The NPA had confirmed that Khumalo had previously been convicted and sentenced for the crime of rape, but no other details were available.
If he was convicted of raping an adult and there were no other aggravating circumstances, then the minimum sentence would be 10 years for a first-time offender, 15 years for a second-time offender and 20 years for a third-time offender, according to the minimum sentencing legislation.
Sentencing
During sentencing proceedings for the latest crimes, Khumalo asked the court that, when imposing a sentence, to consider the fact that he had pleaded guilty and showed remorse.
However, the State argued that court should not deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence of life for the rape of a minor as Khumalo had previous convictions and only pleaded guilty because the State had overwhelming evidence against him.
"When sentencing, the magistrate agreed with the State and said he was not convinced that compelling circumstances existed for him to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence," Mahanjana said.
In addition to the imprisonment sentences, the court also ordered that Khumalo's name be added to the National Register for Sexual Offenders, and declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The life sentence and sentence for attempted rape will run concurrently.
