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All four kidnappers pleaded guilty in Palm Ridge Superior Court on Thursday and mastermind Tharina Human was sentenced to a 10-year prison term.
FILE: (From left to right) Tharina Human, Laetitia Nel and Pieter van Zyl appear before the Vanderbijlpark Magistrates Court on September 19, 2019 for the abduction of a six-year-old girl outside their school. Image: Kgomotso Modise / EWN
JOHANNESBURG – There is a mixed reaction to the jail sentences handed down to the kidnappers of a six-year-old Vanderbijlpark girl, with some saying the penalties were too lenient.
All four kidnappers pleaded guilty in Palm Ridge Superior Court Thursday, and mastermind Tharina Human was punished with a 10-year prison term.
• The kidnappers of the girl Vanderbijlpark (6) will spend between 5 and 10 years in jail
His co-defendants received sentences of between five and eight years each.
The girl was snatched from her mother’s car in front of her school in 2019 and held hostage for several hours before being left on a highway.
The director of the Teddy Bear Clinic, Shaheda Omar, was not happy with these phrases. She said she wanted everyone to stay behind bars longer.
“They came out lightly. Why should your sentences be reduced? There was collusion and the motives were all the same. The fact that Tharina has received a 10-year sentence is still not enough, ”said Omar.
Meanwhile, Save The Children South Africa welcomed the result.
CEO Steve Miller said he hoped the girl would recover from the traumatic experience.
“Trauma affects children differently than adults. It really overwhelms the child [and] it can seriously affect your trajectory and growth in life, ”Miller said.
Human was a teacher at the girl’s school and was friends with her mother.
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