"Devil" Child Rapist Gets 83 Years

A CONVICTED KwaDukuza serial rapist, who attacked girls between the ages of seven and 10, will probably never see the light of day again after he was sentenced to 83 years’ imprisonment.

On Friday, Eric Tembe, 27, was convicted in the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court on five counts of rape and one of attempted rape. He was sentenced to three life terms for the rapes and eight years for the attempted rape.

Two of the three victims had been raped twice by Tembe.

Magistrate Sally Louden described Tembe as the “devil incarnate” and said he was unfit for rehabilitation.

Louden said: “You preyed on innocent young girls and this court has no doubt that there are others out there who have been raped by you. You, sir, are a serial rapist. This court would be failing in its duty if it did not stop you in your tracks. This sentence must also deter others from such anti-social behaviour. Your sentences will not run concurrently.”

She said Tembe’s actions had made it clear that it was not safe for parents to send young girls out alone.

During the trial, it emerged that Tembe terrorised young girls in the Lindelani area, just outside KwaDukuza, between July and November 2009. He lured the girls by asking them directions to a relative’s home in the Lindelani area.

“Because of their naivety, the girls accompanied you. You (Tembe) then grabbed and raped them. All the girls were traumatised when they testified and even burst into tears during the identity parade.

“During the attempted rape, you assaulted the victim by repeatedly bashing her head on the ground. Fortunately, your attempts to rape her were thwarted by a passer-by. Unfortunately, your other victims were not so lucky.”

Louden said Tembe had brutalised the girls and threatened to kill them if they screamed.

In November 2009, he was arrested for a rape in Shakaville.

Louden praised the outstanding police work by Constable Christina Subrayalu, of the KwaDukuza Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, who linked Tembe to the Lindelani rapes. She said conclusive DNA evidence and the fact that Tembe had been positively identified by all the victims during an identity parade, had sealed his fate.

“Throughout the trial, the accused showed no remorse. This, despite conclusive DNA evidence which matched his semen in all of the cases.”

Tembe’s mother, Nomusa, was inconsolable when sentence was passed and called out for Louden to give her son a lesser sentence.

“I know what he has done is wrong. But he is my son and I love him. He is also my only child and the breadwinner at home. I do not know what we are going to do without him...”