Child rapist appeals 110-year prison sentence
Long prison term ‘unconstitutional’
Former Keetmanshoop resident Quinton Pieters was handed a stiff 163-year prison sentence in 2015.
A High Court judge has granted permission to a convicted child rapist and murderer to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against his 110-year prison sentence.
Quinton Pieters is a former Keetmanshoop resident who was given a 163-year prison sentence in 2015.
Judge Naomi Shivute sentenced him to 53 years in prison for the rape and murder of a 55-year-old woman, which would be served concurrently with the 110-year prison sentence he received after being found guilty of several charges related to child rape and abuse.
Pieters was found guilty in March 2015 on three charges of rape, one charge of attempted rape as well as charges of theft and assault with intent to cause serious harm.
Constitutional challenge
In January, Pieters submitted an application for leave to appeal to the High Court based on the principle that sentences longer than 37 and a half years are unconstitutional.
In her ruling on the application, Shivute acknowledged that the 110-year sentence she imposed justified a Supreme Court appeal, and on that basis, she granted the application.
Hefty prison sentence
In August 2004, Pieters attempted to rape an 11-year-old girl from the Koppieslaagte informal settlement and stole N$10 from her cousin.
He was also found guilty of raping and assaulting a young woman in June 2005.
In 2007, he coerced a 13-year-old girl into performing oral sex on him. He was also found guilty of sodomising a 10-year-old boy near the J Stephanus Stadium in Keetmanshoop in October 2007.
Shivute sentenced Pieters to five years for the charge of attempted rape, while on the theft charge, he received a warning.
The judge then imposed a prison term of 45 years for each rape charge and an additional two years for the assault. However, 10 years of the first and third 45-year sentences were suspended for five years, and 10 years of the second 45-year sentence will run concurrently with the initial 45-year sentence.
Shivute further ordered that the two-year sentence for the assault charge be served concurrently with that of the attempted rape.
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Quinton Pieters is a former Keetmanshoop resident who was given a 163-year prison sentence in 2015.
Judge Naomi Shivute sentenced him to 53 years in prison for the rape and murder of a 55-year-old woman, which would be served concurrently with the 110-year prison sentence he received after being found guilty of several charges related to child rape and abuse.
Pieters was found guilty in March 2015 on three charges of rape, one charge of attempted rape as well as charges of theft and assault with intent to cause serious harm.
Constitutional challenge
In January, Pieters submitted an application for leave to appeal to the High Court based on the principle that sentences longer than 37 and a half years are unconstitutional.
In her ruling on the application, Shivute acknowledged that the 110-year sentence she imposed justified a Supreme Court appeal, and on that basis, she granted the application.
Hefty prison sentence
In August 2004, Pieters attempted to rape an 11-year-old girl from the Koppieslaagte informal settlement and stole N$10 from her cousin.
He was also found guilty of raping and assaulting a young woman in June 2005.
In 2007, he coerced a 13-year-old girl into performing oral sex on him. He was also found guilty of sodomising a 10-year-old boy near the J Stephanus Stadium in Keetmanshoop in October 2007.
Shivute sentenced Pieters to five years for the charge of attempted rape, while on the theft charge, he received a warning.
The judge then imposed a prison term of 45 years for each rape charge and an additional two years for the assault. However, 10 years of the first and third 45-year sentences were suspended for five years, and 10 years of the second 45-year sentence will run concurrently with the initial 45-year sentence.
Shivute further ordered that the two-year sentence for the assault charge be served concurrently with that of the attempted rape.
– [email protected]
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