Cape Town - A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to life behind bars following his conviction for rape after he and an accomplice attacked a woman they had followed home.
The Somerset West Regional court sentenced Koos Kerneels to life imprisonment on June 19.
He and his accomplice approached a 27-year-old woman while on her way home in Libanon, Grabouw, and raped her in December 2017. His accomplice, Gerald Jacobs, 39, at the time of their arrest pleaded guilty to the rape charge and was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment by the Strand Regional Court.
Kerneels, however, pleaded not guilty, and the case was tried in the Somerset West Regional Court.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said: “The case was assigned to Captain Francois Boer, who started an intensive investigation and collected evidence to build a strong case and present it before court, and based on this Kerneels was found guilty and sentenced.
“Police management in the province thanked the investigating officer for the hard work he put into his investigation and added that the safety of women and children is a top priority of Western Cape police,” Twigg said.
Cape Times