New Brighton man convicted of raping two young girls

A 51-year-old New Brighton man has been convicted of raping and kidnapping two young girls.

On Tuesday Mlungiseleli Patrick Tyane was found guilty of two counts of rape, two of kidnapping and one of attempted murder.

Handing down judgment, Port Elizabeth high court judge Irma Schoeman said the state had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Tyane was guilty on all the charges against him.

Schoeman commended the two girls for their testimonies, saying  they had been reliable and honest in their evidence.

Other witnesses including the girls’ mothers were credible and made a good impression on the court, Schoeman said.

Schoeman found the state had proved that on September 20 2017, Tyane had lured the girls, aged five and six at the time, to his shack in the Chris Hani informal settlement where he forced them to undress, tied them up and raped them.

He then took the six-year-old to a field near the Ford Stadium in New Brighton, where he stabbed the little girl several times and left her for dead.

She was later found by concerned community members and taken to Dora Nginza Hospital, where she was able to tell her mother where her friend was being kept.

Police found the five-year-old naked under a blanket on Tyane’s bed with her hands tied and a cloth around her neck just after 3am on September 21 2017.

Pre-sentencing proceedings are expected to begin on December 11.