The child was walking alone from school when the man appeared and tried to drag her into his VW Polo.
A 36-year-old man who was arrested in 2018 for trying to force a 13-year-old girl into his car has been sentenced to 5-years.
Sthembiso Mchunu grabbed the child as she was walking from school in August 2018 and tried to drag her into his VW Polo.
But the girl screamed loudly and attracted the attention of a group of construction workers nearby who rushed to help her. She was walking alone from school in Middelburg’s plush suburb of Aerorand.
When the bricklayers came to her help the girl Mchunu ran away, abandoning his Polo.
Hawks spokeswoman Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said when Mchunu abandoned his car he then got into another car that was nearby and it sped off with him.
“We believe he was not working alone in the crime,” said Sekgotodi.
She said they also found that the car that Mchunu had abandoned had been rented from Avis in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
He is from KZN and was arrested by the Hawks in November 2018 – four months after the crime was committed, in an area called Ladysmith, KwaZulu Natal.
He owns a licenced gun and the Middelburg Magistrates Court declared him unfit to possess a gun again.
Mchunu was found guilty of attempted kidnapping Monday this week 17 February 2020.
Hawks boss Major-General Zodwa Mokoena welcomed the sentencing of Mchunu and said they were encouraged by the sentence.
“We hope that such a sentence will send a strong message to all those who may be thinking of embarking in nefarious activities that there are severe consequences for inflicting pain to innocent children.” she said.
“I also want to commend the investigating and prosecuting teams for the hard work that led to the arrest and conviction of Mchunu,” she said.
(edited by ZK)
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