The man convicted of the brutal rape and murder of a 13-year-old Henties Bay girl in 2014 was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday by Windhoek High Court acting Judge Alfred Siboleka.
Jandre Jacques de Klerk was convicted for the rape and murder of Rachel Vanessa Boois.
The gruesome act occurred during the period of 3 – 4 May 2014 in the Omdel location of Henties Bay.
He was also convicted of raping another woman after he broke into her shack during the period of 14 – 15 June 2013.
De Klerk was further sentenced to 15 years on the rape conviction, five years for housebreaking with intent to rape and 12 years for violating a dead body.
De Klerk will, however, only serve the life sentence which will allow him to be released after 25 years, depending on his behaviour while in custody.
The Namibian constitution only allows for a person to serve one life sentence and dictates that further sentences are to run concurrently with the life sentence.
De Klerk denied all the charges at the start of his trial.
Judge Siboleka said De Klerk sexually violated a 13-year-old girl and after he took her to a half-built brick house, he murdered her by suffocations and then broke her neck.
He said De Klerk went further and violated the dead girl’s body by pushing a stick in the deceased’s anal opening, gruesomely violating it.
The judge further said De Klerk was no stranger to the law as he had multiple previous convictions, including rape and assault.
“All these crimes were committed against defenceless women and girls,” the judge remarked.
He went on to say according to medical records, the deceased had several injuries: one inside her private parts, which should have caused her to scream out of severe pain.
The judge noted the prosecution’s stance that the sheer brutality of the assault on the deceased is a clear indication De Klerk is dangerous and should be removed from society.
He further said the moral blameworthiness of De Klerk was high as he showed no remorse for his actions.
He, however, said the period De Klerk spent in custody awaiting trial to be finalised will be taken into account.
The judge further said it is common cause that violence against women and children are out of control and has reached alarming heights, bitterly overwhelming society.
It is, therefore, appropriate that those convicted of such crimes should be punished decisively, the judge stressed.
In sentencing the convict, Judge Siboleka said he took into account the manner in which the 13-year-old victim lost her life, the gruesome violation of her body and the fact that De Klerk also defiled an adult female after breaking into her house while she was sleeping.
– rrouth@nepc.com.na