Iuze Mukube
The trial of a man accused of allegedly luring young girls to his house under the pretext of fixing a gold ring to their teeth, and then sexually assaulting them, is set to commence next month.
This follows the allocation of trial dates to accused Johan Paru Morkel by Windhoek High Court Judge Shafimana Ueitele yesterday.
Judge Ueitele scheduled the trial to run from 29 to 30 April 2026, with additional dates from 5 to 30 May and 15 to 19 June 2026.
Morkel, who appeared on the review roll yesterday, faces seven counts of rape, with alternatives of committing or attempting to commit a sexual act with a child below the age of 16 years.
He further faces three counts of trafficking in children, abduction with an alternative of kidnapping, assault by threat, attempted rape with an alternative of indecent assault, and one count of attempting to commit an indecent or immoral act with a child under the age of 16, alternatively indecent assault.
The charges arise from allegations that on 21 December 2018, the accused allegedly kidnapped a 15-year-old, tied her up and repeatedly raped her in Nuwepost near Dordabis.
It is alleged that the victim only managed to escape after three days.
In 2021, it is alleged that the accused lured two underage girls to his home under the pretext that he would put gold on their teeth and proceeded to sexually molest them.
It is further said he lured a nine-year-old girl on 30 May 2021 under the same pretext and committed a sexual act with the minor while at his residence.
Afterwards, he threatened to beat her if she told anyone about what transpired.
Another allegation is that on 16 July, the accused showed another young girl the gold ring on his teeth and offered to put one on hers as well.
At his residence, he allegedly inserted his tongue in her mouth and touched her all over her body, trying to remove her clothes.
The girl, who shall not be named, managed to pull free, run away and report the incident.
The State is represented by Advocate Palmer Khumalo.