School Lesson on Sexual Abuse Exposes Child Rapist

Child sex abuse education works!

Eric Mashaba, News24 

Mbombela, South Africa - A teacher's Life Orientation lesson on sexual abuse has led to the imprisonment of a man who raped a 12-year-old girl.

Piet Petros Nkosi, 42, from Pienaar, near Mbombela, burst into tears when the Nelspruit Regional Court sentenced him to 16 years in jail on Tuesday.

“I'm being unfairly sentenced, for something I did not do. I'm going to appeal because I know I'm innocent,” he wailed while being escorted down to the cells.

He was arrested on September 14, 2011, after the child told her Grade 4 class teacher about the rape.

Nelspruit, Mbombela

Nkosi pleaded not guilty. He told the court the girl fabricated the story after he had argued with her family. He raped her when he visited the family and spent a night with them.

Magistrate Vanessa Joubert said during her judgment that after the child burst into tears during a lesson, her class teacher questioned her.

“The victim said the lesson reminded her of the ordeal, the sexual abuse. She felt guilt, shame and stigmatised. She then told her teacher she had been raped by her father's friend,” said Joubert.

Police were called to the school and the girl's parents were notified.

The doctor who examined her confirmed that penetration had taken place and that she had been infected with a sexually transmitted disease.

Joubert said the State called four witnesses, including two teachers.

“The victim was a single witness and she testified in camera. She said the accused called her into his room and he raped her on top of cardboard boxes. During the investigation, blood was found on the cardboard boxes, which were in the accused's room,” she said.

Although she could not remember the exact date and time of the rape, the girl was able to tell the court what happened.

“She said the reason she reported the incident late was that the accused had threatened that he would kill both of her parents if she spoke about the ordeal,” said Joubert.

She deviated from the prescribed sentence of life imprisonment because Nkosi had already spent four years in custody and due to delays in the trial.

Joubert declared him unfit to work with children and ordered that his name be added to the national register for sex offenders.

Mbombela, South Africa