News24.com | Court sentences 'crafty, devious' Facebook rapist to 3 life terms and 280 years

The Eastern Cape High Court has sentenced a Facebook rapist to 3 life terms and 280 years.

• Khululekile Justin Ngqeza raped 10 women in two years.
• He masqueraded as a model scout to lure victims to fake photoshoots and then raped them. 
• His reign of terror ended in May 2020.

An Eastern Cape man, who used Facebook to lure young, aspirant female models to fake photoshoots and then raped them, has been sentenced to three life terms and 280 years behind bars.

He attacked 10 women during a two-year stint of terror.

On Monday, the Eastern Cape High Court sitting in Makhanda showed no mercy to Khululekile Justin Ngqeza, 36, for violating women, aged between 15 and 21, at bed and breakfasts and in bushy secluded areas.

The court found Ngqeza guilty on all charges, ranging from rape to human trafficking, on 6 February 2023.

In the judgment, Ngqeza was described as an "unremorseful and shameless rapist", who used a "crafty and devious" ploy to exploit young women.

His last victim, before police arrested him at a Kei Bridge roadblock on 19 May 2020, was a 17-year-old girl from Komani.  

The roadblock was set up after his victim alerted police, who then gathered information that Ngqeza was on his way to Mthatha.

The provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nomthetheleli Mene, welcomed the sentence.

Mene said the sentence was a victory for all the victims who had suffered.

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She congratulated the investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Busisiwe Ncula.

"Lengthy jail sentences such as this brings hope to all victims that justice prevails and that the cycle of violence against women and children can and must be broken," said Mene.

She said Ncula's work had ensured Ngqeza would never see the outside of a prison cell.

"We will continue to prioritise and fight gender-based violence in all its forms. The increasing brutality and violence against women rank as the highest form of betrayal because the majority of it is in the hands of those they trust," said Mene.