NPA praises prosecutors after testimony of four-year-old girl leads to conviction, sentencing of child rapist

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has lauded prosecutors after the landmark testimony of a four-year-old girl led to the conviction and sentencing of a child rapist.

The four-year-old girl is the youngest victim to give a successful testimony in a rape case in South Africa's history.

As a result, fifty-five-year-old Ian Hoggins was handed a life sentence in George last week.

NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the four-year-old victim testified for four consecutive days in Thembalethu Regional Court.

"This necessitated a lot of patience and King Solomon’s wisdom on the part of Advocate Gerda Marx, as the victim grew tired and had a short attention span."

Ntabazalila said prosecutors used dolls for the little girl to show the court what happened to her.

"Advocate Marx had to request the court to take breaks to ensure that the victim did not lose focus and was able to respond during her testimony and the rigorous cross-examination that followed."

Convicted rapist Ian Hoggins was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape, five years for sexual assault, and eight years for illegal possession of child pornographic images.