Petition for life sentence of child rapist
A mom of one of child pornographer and rapist Rudolph Coetzee’s victims has started a petition for him to spend his life in jail.
|||Kimberley - The mother of one of the children who fell prey to local child pornographer and rapist, Rudolph Coetzee, has started a petition calling for him to spend the rest of his life in jail.
Coetzee, a Kimberley photographer, was sentenced to an effective 24 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of five counts of rape, 22 counts of using children in the production of child pornography, 16 counts of sexual assault and two counts of attempted rape. The crimes involved local boys and girls aged between three and 12 years, including the mother’s eight-year-old son.
She told the DFA on Thursday that she was struggling to come to terms with the brutal and premeditated sexual abuse of her son.
“My serious concern is that the sentence handed out to Coetzee is way too lenient for the hideous crimes he committed. The degree of torture and brutality meted to my son during the time of the abuse that he suffered at the hands of this monster indicates that he (Coetzee) is nothing short of sewage – callous and inhuman. The revelation by my son during the court case makes living another day unbearable for me and my family,” the mother said on Thursday.
She added that the nature and circumstances of the offences also provoked a real sense of outrage and fear among the whole community.
The petition reads as follows:
“We, the family of an innocent eight-year-old boy, pray that you will consider our plea and assist in keeping this monster behind bars for the rest of his life. We, the undersigned, call on the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services to ensure that this monster, Rudolph Coetzee, is kept in prison until the day he dies in jail. This monster pleaded guilty to five charges of rape, 22 charges of using children in the production of child pornography, 16 charges of sexual assault and two charges of attempted rape.
Coetzee penetrated a boy anally with his finger (rape), the boy penetrating Coetzee’s mouth with his (the child’s) penis (rape), penetrating a boy’s mouth with his (Coetzee’s) penis (rape), virginally penetrated a girl (rape), and placed his penis between the buttocks of a boy (rape). Four boys were involved in the sexual assault charges, and one boy was involved in the two attempted rape charges. He showed no remorse what so ever and the reality is that people like him can not be rehabilitated. He will most definitely come for his accusers once released prematurely.
Our plea is that he must remain behind bars for his whole natural life. We are aware that his mother has filed a request for mitigation of sentence. Our request is therefore also that such a request must not be granted.
We the undersigned citizens of the Northern Cape hereby petition the Department of Justice and Correctional Services not to grant Rudolph Coetzee any reduction on the 24 years sentence; instead we are pleading for revision of the sentence and to impose a much harsher sentence of life sentence for every of the seven children affected.”
The petition will be handed over to the Department of Justice and the Department of Correctional Services once enough signatures have been collected.
DFA