File
It's D-day on Thursday for the 65-year-old man accused of raping and sexually exploiting several young girls in KwaNojoli, formerly Somerset East.
The Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda is expected to deliver judgment in the rape case against Lukas Rudman, who allegedly committed the offences between September and October 2021.
The youngest of his rape survivors was just 13 years old at the time.
He's been slapped with 11 charges, including four counts of rape, two of sexual assault and five counts of human trafficking.
The state charges that Rudman enticed the complainants to visit his house by giving them gifts, including money, cell phones, food, and alcohol.
This, allegedly with the intention of sexually exploiting them.
In some cases, he's believed to have offered alcohol to the girls, who were between the ages of 13 and 18 at the time of the alleged incidents.
The state said in the event of a conviction, it would be calling for a discretionary minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
