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Prison cell
A KwaZulu-Natal pastor found guilty of raping young girls at Nquthu has been sentenced to ten terms of life imprisonment and an additional 70 years.
58-year-old Mandlelisa Mabhale faced ten charges of raping young children, sexual assault, and exposing children to pornography. He was arrested in September 2022.
The court heard that four children confessed to their mother that the pastor was raping them.
Mabhale pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Provincial police spokesperson Thenjiswa Ngcobo says, “The children frequented the place of the pastor and would spend a considerable amount of time in his company. They would also assist Mabhale when he was doing his odd jobs, fixing electrical appliances.
Ngcobo adds, “Investigations into the matter ensued with the urgency it deserved, uncovering that Mabhale had raped at least ten children. The victims, who are all minors, informed police detectives that the pastor would lure them to his rented room at the Ndidini area, where he would make them watch pornographic material and then rape them.”
