A North West man's reign of terror has finally come to an end after he was sentenced to life in prison for brutally raping five young women, one of whom was pregnant.
The Moretele regional court slapped Benjamin Bapela with a life sentence, as well as additional 10-year and 15-year terms on Monday. The sentences will run concurrently.
The 30-year-old's crime spree began in 2013 with the rape of a 26-year-old woman in Temba, according to North West NPA spokesperson Henry Mamothame.
"[The woman] was walking from a tavern in the early hours of the morning when she met Bapela, who grabbed and pulled her to the nearby bushes [where he] raped her.
“In 2016, he raped an 18-year-old woman at a tavern [in Temba] in the early hours of the morning. The woman had gone outside to answer her phone when Bapela emerged from behind, throttled her and pulled her to the fence [where he] raped her,” said Mamothame.
That same year, Bapela pounced on two more women, one in Suurman and another in Sekampaneng.
NW man's reign of terror ends as he is sentenced to life for raping five women
A North West man's reign of terror has finally come to an end after he was sentenced to life in prison for brutally raping five young women, one of whom was pregnant.
The Moretele regional court slapped Benjamin Bapela with a life sentence, as well as additional 10-year and 15-year terms on Monday. The sentences will run concurrently.
The 30-year-old's crime spree began in 2013 with the rape of a 26-year-old woman in Temba, according to North West NPA spokesperson Henry Mamothame.
"[The woman] was walking from a tavern in the early hours of the morning when she met Bapela, who grabbed and pulled her to the nearby bushes [where he] raped her.
“In 2016, he raped an 18-year-old woman at a tavern [in Temba] in the early hours of the morning. The woman had gone outside to answer her phone when Bapela emerged from behind, throttled her and pulled her to the fence [where he] raped her,” said Mamothame.
That same year, Bapela pounced on two more women, one in Suurman and another in Sekampaneng.
In Suurman, Bapela assaulted a 22-year-old woman as she was coming from her boyfriend's place before dragging her into the nearby bushes and raping her.
"[In Sekampaneng] Bapela raped a pregnant and asthmatic woman.
“He was allegedly in the company of an unknown man, who also allegedly raped the 22-year-old woman ... as she was making her way to the clinic.
The two men apparently grabbed and throttled the young woman before taking turns raping her and then fleeing the scene.
The duo allegedly threatened the woman with a firearm.
In the final incident, Bapela was convicted for the rape of a 21-year-old woman who had been sleeping in her shack with her two-year-old child.
“The woman heard someone in the house and upon inspection saw Bapela, who threatened her and her child with a knife. He then raped her and fled the scene,” Mamothame said.
Bapela was also declared unfit to posses a firearm.
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