Cape Town - A Northern Cape man has been sentenced on charges of housebreaking, theft and attempted rape.
In a statement on Monday, provincial police spokesperson Captain Olebogeng Tawana said Nikolaas Essau, 46, was convicted in the Northern Cape High Court for his crimes committed in August 2019.
Tawana said Essau was convicted after he broke into the home of a 47-year-old woman in Rosedale and went straight to the bedroom, where he found her sleeping.
According to evidence before the court, the victim asked Essau what he was doing in her bedroom during the early hours of the morning. He allegedly told her he came asking for a cigarette.
The victim gave him a cigarette and escorted him out of her home and locked her doors. The victim then went back to bed and shortly afterwards Essau returned.
He wrestled with the victim and tried forcing himself on her.
“When he realised that the attempts to force himself on her failed, he grabbed her cellphone and fled the scene. He was arrested immediately after the victim reported the matter to the police. The investigating officer successfully opposed bail and he was kept in police custody until the completion of the trial,” Tawana said.
The court sentenced Essau to three years’ imprisonment for housebreaking, three years’ imprisonment for theft and 12 years’ imprisonment for attempted rape.
The court ordered that the theft and housebreaking sentences run concurrently with the attempted rape charge. Essau was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Provincial police management welcomed the sentencing and commended the investigating officer, Sergeant Mokwene, for a sterling job.
African News Agency (ANA)