Man guilty of rape by common purpose

A thug who watched but did nothing as his partners raped a woman near the Grasmere Toll Plaza is guilty of raping the woman by common purpose, a full Bench of the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) held on appeal. James Langa was handed a life sentence for the rape of this woman and another life sentence for raping a 14-year-old girl during the same crime spree, notes a Beeld report. Judge Cynthia Pretorius, on behalf of the full Bench, said the rapes changed the women’s lives forever. The judge said Langa acted with common purpose even if he didn’t rape the adult woman himself and the fact that the state didn’t make reference to section 51 of the Criminal Procedure Amendment Act specifically was no justification not to impose life sentences. Pretorius held that it was clear from the charge sheet that the state alleged a gang rape that would carry a life sentence upon conviction and Langa wasn’t prejudiced by the omission of the specific warning in the charge sheet. The rapes were ‘some of the worst’ seen by that court, Pretorius added.