The Montagu District Court in the Western Cape Province of South Africa has sentenced police officer Frederick Soldaat to 25 years in prison for R3.
The National Prosecution Agency (NPA) said in a statement Thursday, April 34, 2025 that the court deviated from the prescribed minimum life sentence due to the defendant’s medical condition.
The court was convicted of rape of a minor, 15 years old, when he served the Montagu South African Police Services Services Services r3 on August 30, 2016.
During the trial, state Adv Heinrich Koert presented evidence that the victim’s mother brought the victim to the trauma chamber after disagreeing with her daughter at home.
The mother asked the police to take her to the police station so she could calm down. Soldaat was one of the police officers who initially attended the complaint.
Police took the victim to the station and booked her to the trauma room, and the defendant had to complete an admission form that included the complainant’s age at the time, at the time of 15. Later, he visited her at least twice while in the trauma room.
He claimed that the victim praised his eyes color. She didn’t resist at first, but when he started to take off his pants, she refused, but he overwhelmed her. Then he was in the trauma chamber.
He left her after completing the rape. She went home the next morning and reported the rape to her mother. Her mother contacted police, who resumed investigation.
The victim pointed out the defendant and the police arrested him. The state opposed bail, but the court granted him bail. The defendant claimed that S3X occurred through consent and he did not know the age of the victim.
The case faced challenges before finalization, including sitting only once a week in the branch court, where the defendant changed his legal representative, causing delays as transcripts had to be typed and time to prepare for his legal representative.
Loads, the COVID-19 pandemic, and challenges to the CCTV system and court record system have caused some delays.
Adv Koert said in his argument that the defendant transformed a space where the victim felt victim and was safe, making it a crime scene.
The court needs to restore community trust in police so that future victims of crime feel safe again and stand up so that justice can be seen.
Western Cape Public Prosecutor Director Nicolette Bell welcomed the verdict and expressed shock at the heinous crimes committed by a police officer custodially custodial victim.
Adv Bell said the sentencing provided justice and closure to the victim, and her family had evacuated another violent criminal from the community.
