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Nicholas Ninow has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a seven-year-old girl at a Dros restaurant in Pretoria last year.
The verdict was delivered by Judge Mokhine Mosopa at the Pretoria High Court on Thursday afternoon. He also sentenced Ninow to five years for possession of drugs and five years for defeating the ends of justice. The sentences for rape and defeating the ends of justice will run concurrently.
Ninow’s mother and grandmother, who held on to each other, broke down in court following the sentencing as ANC and EFF supporters celebrated around them.
Ninow told the court on Wednesday that he wasn’t in the right state of mind when he raped the girl, and blamed his actions on the drugs and alcohol.
He said on the day of the rape that he was on day three of a drug binge, mainly doing a mixture of CAT and crystal meth.
He threatened to commit suicide if he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
State prosecutor Dorah Ngobeni argued that Ninow was not remorseful for what he had done and that life imprisonment was a just sentence.
Ninow, who admitted to using drugs while in prison since he was arrested and convicted last year, said that he had started using drugs at the age of 13 with his mother. Mosopa said on Thursday while handing down Ninow’s sentence that Ninow was not ready to commit himself to being rehabilitated after being to rehab centres three times.
On Wednesday Ninow’s grandmother, whom Ninow said that he loved, told the court about how she and her late husband had to take out a second bond on their house in order to fund Ninow’s rehabilitation, but that the funds eventually dried up following her husband’s death.
During her closing arguments, Ngobeni asked the court to reject Ninow’s version of events.
“The accused is not remorseful. That is my submission. The accused only feels sorry that he now has to take full responsibility for his actions and now that he is facing life in prison,” she said.
