Rapist world champion boxer Thabo Sonjica has been sentenced to six years imprisonment and will spend his first weekend in custody.
Sonjica, 24, was found guilty last year of raping a minor after he dragged a teenager into a Duncan Village shack and sexually violated her.
Yesterday, magistrate Ignatius Kitching, sitting in the East London Regional Court, sentenced him to six years imprisonment.
“People expect the court to do more than pay lip service in the fight against rape. Because people in communities are so fed up with crime they end up taking the law into their own hands.
“However, the courts are here,” Kitching said.
Kitching said he agreed with Sonjica’s attorney Thembekile Malusi that the young man should not be “sacrificed at the alter of retribution”.
“The probation officers and your attorney said you would be a suitable candidate for a community-based sentence and not a custodial sentence.
“When the complainant’s father came to report the matter at your home, she and her parents were humiliated by being accused of wanting money from you,” he said.
KItching said the girl was wearing a school uniform and her father had sent her to buy amasi when Sonjica pulled her into a nearby shack.
“Once in the shack, Sonjica’s friends closed the door.
In court they corroborated his version that the matter stemmed from jealousy towards Sonjica from the Duncan Village community.
“Instead of stopping you, they did nothing. You also have no remorse for the despicable deed. Almost on a daily basis courts sit with cases of unsuspecting women and girls pounced upon,” Kitching said. “This case is a manifestation of criminal behaviour. The only remorse shown in this case is that of self-pity.
“The gravity of the case and the interests of society far outweigh your personal circumstances.”
He then sentenced Sonjica to six years imprisonment and ordered that he be disqualified from possessing a firearm.
Kitching told the complainant’s family that when Sonjica is eligible for parole, they are allowed to make representations to the parole board. Sonjica’s legal team will apply for leave to appeal on Monday. — siyab@dispatch.co.za
Top boxer Sonjica gets six years
Sonjica, 24, was found guilty last year of raping a minor after he dragged a teenager into a Duncan Village shack and sexually violated her.
Yesterday, magistrate Ignatius Kitching, sitting in the East London Regional Court, sentenced him to six years imprisonment.
“People expect the court to do more than pay lip service in the fight against rape. Because people in communities are so fed up with crime they end up taking the law into their own hands.
“However, the courts are here,” Kitching said.
Kitching said he agreed with Sonjica’s attorney Thembekile Malusi that the young man should not be “sacrificed at the alter of retribution”.
“The probation officers and your attorney said you would be a suitable candidate for a community-based sentence and not a custodial sentence.
“When the complainant’s father came to report the matter at your home, she and her parents were humiliated by being accused of wanting money from you,” he said.
KItching said the girl was wearing a school uniform and her father had sent her to buy amasi when Sonjica pulled her into a nearby shack.
“Once in the shack, Sonjica’s friends closed the door.
In court they corroborated his version that the matter stemmed from jealousy towards Sonjica from the Duncan Village community.
“Instead of stopping you, they did nothing. You also have no remorse for the despicable deed. Almost on a daily basis courts sit with cases of unsuspecting women and girls pounced upon,” Kitching said. “This case is a manifestation of criminal behaviour. The only remorse shown in this case is that of self-pity.
“The gravity of the case and the interests of society far outweigh your personal circumstances.”
He then sentenced Sonjica to six years imprisonment and ordered that he be disqualified from possessing a firearm.
Kitching told the complainant’s family that when Sonjica is eligible for parole, they are allowed to make representations to the parole board. Sonjica’s legal team will apply for leave to appeal on Monday. — siyab@dispatch.co.za
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