Child rapist gets 35 years

The Swakopmund Regional Court has imposed a long sentence on a man arrested in 2014 for raping four minor girls at the coastal town.

Dragan Vujicin (68) was sentenced to 35 years' effective imprisonment on seven counts of rape and four counts of human trafficking involving four underage girls. The crimes were committed in 2013 and 2014.

Regional Magistrate Gaynor Poulton sentenced Vujicin on Friday after having convicted him on 31 January.

Poulton sentenced him five years' imprisonment on each on the four human trafficking counts and ten years each on the seven counts of rape.

She ordered that three of the human trafficking sentences run concurrently with the first count, and that four of the rape sentences run concurrently with the other three, resulting in an effective prison term of 35 years.

Poulton said Vujicin had not shown any sign of remorse, nor had he offered an apology.

“The version of the accused was a bare denial and up to today he does not want to accept blameworthiness for what he did. The accused is a father with a daughter who is equally vulnerable against his mode of operation.

“The age disparity of 50 years is also aggravating since the accused could have been the father or grandfather of the victims,” she said.

Poulton said it was an aggravating factor that Vujicin targeted children that he knew were vulnerable, and exploited their vulnerability by making them perform “despicable sexual acts”.



“The children were merely seven to nine years old when the crimes were committed. He groomed them until the stage they did not bother to report the inappropriate deed that was done to them by a wonderful uncle, and abused his position of trust. He also did not commit the offence once but several times.”



She added that rape was without a doubt one of the most serious and inhuman offences that could be committed against a woman, while trafficking in persons was an equally serious offence.



“Rape is a heinous offence while the seriousness of human trafficking is evident from the penalty provisions. There is a daily outcry that this offence must be stopped. It is expected from the courts to sentence in such a way to deter and prevent.”



A social worker and two of the victims' mothers testified for the State, represented by prosecutor Maria Shilongo.



Social worker Margret Richter told the court that the trauma the victims experienced would last forever. She listed extreme and excessive sexualised behaviour, promiscuity and stigmatisation as some of the significant impacts of the trauma experienced by the victims.



“The emotional wounds remain long after the event and are accompanied with feelings of shame. The fact that the accused groomed the children over a long period shows that he is a sexual predator.



“He maintained the relationships over quite some time. I classify the accused as a paedophile. He has interest in children and the probability is high that without rehabilitation, and should the opportunity present itself again, the accused would continue on the same path,” Richter testified.



Both mothers testified that the incident had changed their daughters.



“My child is not what and how she used to be. She underwent a complete behavioural change and became rebellious. She sleeps out, no longer performs at school, has issues with her concentration and cannot remember,” one mother said.



The second mother testified that her child was experiencing stigmatisation to a certain extent.



“Others point fingers while some sympathise. She closes up when the incident or the name of the accused is mentioned. I have panic attacks and am paranoid ... that something similar could happen to my other two kids,” she said.



Richter also said that support systems were not always in place and that professional help lacked in many instances. That made it difficult for such children to lead normal lives.



Dragan did not call any witnesses during the trial.



His lawyer, Mpokiseng Dube, submitted that he had no previous convictions and was married with three minor children.



“During pre-trial he was incarcerated for a year and is of fragile health,” Dube argued in mitigation of sentence.



Dube listed Vujicin's advanced age and the fact that there was no penile penetration as grounds for the court to deviate from the mandatory sentence.



“Due to the age of the accused, it would be unjust to incarcerate him for very long,” he said.



OTIS FINCK