Nicholas Ninow pleaded guilty to raping a seven-year-old girl at a Dros restaurant in Silverton, as well as possession of drugs and defeating the ends of justice, in the Pretoria high court on Monday.

In his plea explanation, read by his counsel Herman Alberts, Ninow said he went to the bathroom to take drugs in September 2018. When he entered the cubicle, he took off his shirt and lowered his pants.

He said the child entered the toilet and said she wanted to urinate. He put her on the toilet seat.

"I acted impulsively. I penetrated the complainant with my finger," Ninow said.

"I realised what I was doing [the penetration] was wrong, so I immediately stopped."

Ninow broke down as Alberts read the explanation.

The state withdrew a charge of kidnapping.

There were murmurs from the gallery as the state read out the charges against him.

"Sies Mdlwenguli [rapist]. Satan," a woman shouted.

The visibly nervous man held a document in his hand, which he read as proceedings continued.

Ninow was declared fit to stand trial on February 8 by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. This after he was admitted to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria, where he was evaluated by three psychologists and a psychiatrist. He has been in custody since the alleged incident.