Windhoek
Submissions on the sentence that will be imposed on convicted rapist and robber, Erwin Kock, were postponed on Friday in the Windhoek High Court to August 10, on request of his state-funded lawyer.
Boris Isaacks asked Judge Naomi Shivute to grant his client a remand as he needs to do some more research on the effects a lengthy sentence will have on the rehabilitative prospects of his client.
Judge Shivute acquitted Kock on a charge of murder at the beginning of July, found him guilty of rape and robbery.
Deputy Prosecutor General Karin Esterhuizen did not object to the postponement. The judge ordered the defense to submit written heads of argument by no later than July 27 and the State by no later than July 31.
Prior to that, however, Esterhuizen handed the court a list of Kock’s previous convictions. In November 2005 he was sentenced to a prison term of 18 months for breaking and entering.
The State alleged that he killed, raped and robbed 58-year old Rebecca Isaaks in Keetmanshoop during the period October 2 to 3, 2008.
The judge found that the State did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Kock had killed the deceased.
She said the fact that the autopsy did not determine the exact cause of death, the possibility that the deceased died as a result of a fall, instead of an assault, could not be excluded.
In a statement Kock made to the police shortly after his arrest he said that he met Isaaks at Tseiblaagte, Keetmanshoop on October 3, 2008 and that she agreed to have intercourse with him for a payment of N$130.
He said that when he went to her house that night, he found her on a bed with her feet on the floor. He then picked her up and placed her onto the bed before having intercourse with her three times, the statement reads.
As a result of the deceased’s alleged state of insobriety she was in no position to consent to sex, the judge noted and found Kock guilty of rape.
According to the judgment, there was evidence that the injuries inflicted on the deceased were caused by Kock. As a result he was also convicted of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He was further convicted of robbery for stealing from the deceased.