A 30-year-old man already serving a life sentence for murder has been linked via DNA and sentenced in the Westonaria Magistrate’s Court on charges of rape, robbery and assault.
Ntlantla Hlongwane raped two women in Bekkersdal.
On September 23, 2017, at about 2am a 27-year-old woman was heading home from a nearby tavern when she was approached by Hlongwane who robbed her of her cell phone, assaulted her and then dragged her to nearby bushes where he raped her.
The woman reported the incident to the police, but was unable to identify Hlongwane at the time because he was wearing a balaclava.
On February 16, 2019, at about midnight, Hlongwane entered the home of a 21-year-old woman who was sleeping.
The court heard he gained entry into the house through an open window.
Once inside, Hlongwane threatened the woman with a knife and raped her.
She reported the mater to the police, but like his previous victim, was unable to identify him because he was wearing a balaclava.
In both incidents, DNA samples were taken from the victims and stored.
Hlongwane was arrested on a murder case and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The DNA from the murder case linked him to the two rapes.
During his trial, Hlongwane claimed to have been in romantic relationships with both victims and claimed the sex was consensual.
State prosecutor Jonathan Nkadimeng argued Hlongwane had been found guilty of a serious offence and further submitted there were no significant or compelling reasons to depart from the mandatory minimum penalty.
He was subsequently sentenced to 10 years direct imprisonment for rape, 15 years direct imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances, 10 years for rape and six months imprisonment for assault.
The court ordered one of the rape sentences to run concurrently with the sentence imposed for assault.
He will serve 25 years and six months in prison.
IOL