Child rapist, guilty
ALEXANDRA - Child cemetery serial rapist admits guilt, awaits 25 August sentencing.
Alex’s serial child rapist, Thabo Ditinti (30) of 3rd Avenue, admitted guilt to three counts of rape of minors in the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court.
The rapes were committed in September last year.
The accused is said to have children of his own and was living with his girlfriend at the time of the rapes. Ditinti was arrested in Marlboro Cemetery on 30 September last year by patrolling Metro police officers who caught him red-handed raping a 10-year-old girl. His arrest led to the revelation of previous rapes at the same site.
His first victim was a six-year-old girl on 22 September, and the second victim was a seven-year-old girl on 28 September.
Medical tests on the victims, DNA results and his identification by the victims cemented his rape conviction. Ditinti had not used a condom.
He lured the girls by offering them free morning rides to school, only to deviate from their school routes to the cemetery where he threatened and raped the little girls, and later dropped them off somewhere else.
In mitigation at an earlier hearing, the accused claimed evil spirits led him to commit the crimes.
A social worker who attended the hearing, but declined to be named, said the rape of defenceless children was a concern. She said it was less prominent in winter when most children stayed indoors. She added that the accused’s admission would bring relief to the victims and their families who would require support to deal with their trauma.
The accused was also found to have previous criminal records, one for robbery committed in 2009, for which it wasn’t stated if he served his sentence; and one for assault for which he was fined.
Ditinti will be sentenced on 25 August.
