Former prosecutor once tasked with fighting crime is now behind bars for it

A man who spent his career prosecuting criminals in the Northern Cape has now found himself on the other side of the courtroom.

He’s been sentenced for turning that same violence on his own partner.

WHAT HAPPENED

According to the NPA, a 40-year-old former prosecutor, previously attached to the Upington Cluster, has been sentenced by the Upington Regional Court.

He received 10 years’ imprisonment, four of which are suspended for five years.

The NPA confirmed the sentencing on 16 September.

It noted that the accused’s identity cannot be disclosed, since doing so would indirectly reveal the identity of the complainant.

The court convicted him of sexual assault and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

He was further convicted of contravening a protection order, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to the NPA, he was acquitted on two counts of rape and a charge of compelling a child to witness a sexual offence.

The State had failed to prove those charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

HOW IT UNFOLDED

The NPA said the incident took place on 13 November 2022 at the couple’s home in Paballelo, near Upington.

According to evidence before the court, the complainant, a 29-year-old member of the South African Police Service, had been sleeping ahead of a night shift.

An argument broke out after she told him she wanted to end their relationship.

He accused her of infidelity.

He then assaulted and sexually assaulted her, while their two-year-old daughter was present in the home.

She managed to escape only when SAPS colleagues arrived at the house to collect her for duty and intervened.

He was arrested shortly after, first appearing in court on 15 November 2022.

WHAT THE SENTENCE ACTUALLY MEANS

The sentences were structured to run concurrently.

Six months for sexual assault, ten years for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (four suspended), and twelve months for breaching the protection order.

A further six months for driving under the influence was also served alongside the GBH sentence.

WHO BUILT THE CASE

The NPA said the investigation was led by SAPS’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit. 

Control Prosecutor Charnill Kok led the State’s case.

She drew on testimony from responding SAPS officers, a forensic nurse from Dr Harry Surtie Hospital who conducted the medico-legal examination, and the complainant herself.

A Victim Impact Statement was also compiled with the help of Court Preparation Officer Ashley Groenewald.

It detailed the toll the incident took on both the complainant and her young daughter.

Mojalefa Senokoatsane, NPA Regional Spokesperson for the Northern Cape Division, said the prosecution demonstrates that allegations of criminal conduct are subjected to due process.

This holds true, he said, regardless of the position or occupation of the accused.

He added that the NPA remains committed to prosecuting cases without fear, favour, or prejudice, irrespective of an accused person’s status or standing in society.

He said the authority continues to prioritise the effective prosecution of gender-based violence and femicide matters.

It’s a genuinely uncomfortable thing to sit with.

A man whose job was pursuing justice for others is now serving time, because he denied it to someone he was supposed to protect.