AlgoaFM News
A man from Rocklands in Gqeberha has been sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment for raping and brutally murdering a five-year-old girl.
The city's High Court sentenced 26-year-old Ricardo Gysman to life behind bars on Friday for the rape and murder of little Chantelle Makwena in 2019.
He was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison for raping a 50-year-old woman in 2018.
Judge Bulelwa Pakati said Gysman showed no remorse and also showed no respect for the physical integrity of his victims.
Judge Pakati said Gysman didn't take any responsibility for either incident and only admitted to the crimes after his DNA was linked to the two victims
She said he was cold and calculating and betrayed the trust of his two victims whose families will probably never find closure.
Gysman's name will also be added to the National Register for sex offenders.
Meanwhile, DA MP Andrew Whitfield, who has championed the fight for Makwena's killer to be convicted and sentenced, was in court.
Whitfield described this case as one the most gruesome acts of violence against children he has ever seen - especially because Gysman was out in the community for two years after raping the 50-year-old woman.
He told AlgoaFM News that the criminal justice system had sent a strong message with this sentence.
"The DA has been at the forefront of fighting against the massive DNA backlog, precisely because of tragic cases like the one of Chantelle Makwena," said Whitfield.
"Victims and families of victims of violent crime suffer the most horrific and unacceptable extended trauma from delayed justice because of these DNA testing backlogs."
