Cape Town - A serial rapist who preyed on women in Mpumalanga will be spending the next 83 years in prison.
Charles Mahlangu, 29, was sentenced in the Kwaggafontein Regional Court after he was convicted of five counts of rape, five counts of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and one count of sexual assault.
Provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Monica Nyuswa said Mahlangu had been terrorising the community of Vlaklaagte since August 2017 until May 2019.
She said his modus operandi was targeting women who walked along a pathway between Gembokspruit and Vlaaklagte number 2.
He would threaten them with a sharp object which resembled a screwdriver, force them to the bush where he would subsequently rape them.
In some instances, he would rob his victims of their belongings, such as cellphones.
Victims filed charges and Mahlangu’s reign of terror came to an end when police managed to trace him via a recovered cellphone and he was linked to the rapes through DNA evidence.
While Mahlangu maintained his innocence and denied all allegations against him, State prosecutor Nicky Coetzer led evidence of the victims who testified about how they encountered the rapist.
During their testimony, the victims described how they had suffered at the hands of Mahlangu, and the DNA evidence positively linked him to crimes.
He was convicted on the charges against him.
During sentencing, the court found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.
The court further deemed Mahlangu unfit to possess a firearm.
It was also ordered his name be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders.
The NPA welcomed the sentence imposed.
“The NPA acknowledges the good work done by the prosecution and the investigating team in delivering justice to the victims of gender-based violence,” Nyuswa said.
IOL