The KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Monday gave life sentences to three men found guilty of raping Jessica Foord.
Ntuthuko Chili, 18, Mbotho Msomi, 26, and Lindani Maphumulo, 19, were given life sentences for rape and sexual assault and 15 years each for armed robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The third accused, Siyabonga Ntinga, 18, who was acquitted of rape last week, was given 15 years for armed robbery.
On March 2 last year, Foord, then aged 21, and her father were walking their dogs at the Polo Pony Dam in Hillcrest when five men brandishing knives and guns confronted them.
Foord, who has agreed that her name may be published, was gang raped and her father, Timothy, was forced to watch while tied to a tree by the fifth assailant.
Jewellery, cellphones and a wallet were stolen from them.
The gang fled in the father’s Isuzu bakkie.
The fifth member of the group, a 17-year-old who pleaded guilty to the crime last year, was sentenced to 17 years in jail, part of which would be spent at a juvenile facility.
The youth testified as a state witness and he cannot be named as he is a minor.
Handing down sentence, Judge Vivienne Niles-Duner said the accused could hardly be considered youthful because of the nature of the crime they had committed.
”It is true that most of you are young, but what is sad is that many of rape cases are committed by people of your age.”
Msomi’s and Maphumulo’s attempts to appeal their sentences were turned down by the judge who argued it was impossible that another court would come up with different sentences.
Chili, who testified that he only held Foord’s father at gunpoint while the other accused raped her, was allowed to appeal his sentence.
The court room was packed with Foord’s relatives and friends who cheered when the judge handed down the sentences. — Sapa