KEY POINTS
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Ex-police officer Frederick Soldaat sentenced to 25 years for raping a minor.
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Trial delays caused by court disruptions, legal changes, and technical failures.
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Despite Soldaat’s claims of consent, nine years of investigations led to his conviction.
The Montagu Regional Court sentenced former police officer Frederick Soldaat to 25 years in prison for raping a 15-year-old girl.
Authorities said it took nine years to convict Soldaat following the incident that occurred in Montagu in August 2016.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) conducted the investigation, and Soldaat resigned from the police service in 2017.
Trial evidence reveals assault inside police trauma room
According to IOL, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila confirmed the court deviated from life imprisonment due to Soldaat’s medical condition.
State Advocate Heinrich Koert presented evidence that the victim’s mother took her to the police station after a disagreement.
Soldaat, among the officers responding, booked the girl into the trauma room and noted her correct age as fifteen.
Later, Soldaat visited her twice in the trauma room and eventually overpowered and raped her despite her resistance.
The girl went home the next morning and reported the incident to her mother, who then alerted the police.
Delays mar trial proceedings before conviction
After the victim identified Soldaat, authorities arrested him, but despite state opposition, they controversially granted him bail.
Soldaat claimed the encounter was consensual and insisted he did not know the victim’s true age at the time.
Ntabazalila said several factors delayed finalizing the case, including branch court sittings limited to once per week.
The accused’s changing legal representatives and the need to prepare new transcripts further contributed to the delays.
Loadshedding, the COVID-19 pandemic, and failures in the CCTV and court recording systems also contributed to the long delays.
