In a significant victory against gender-based violence, the Umzimkhulu Regional Court has handed down severe sentences to multiple sex offenders, including a serial rapist and a man who assaulted his toddler niece, the South African Police Service (SAPS) confirmed on Monday.

On 30 September 2026, the court sentenced 33-year-old serial rapist Tenes Hassan to six terms of life imprisonment.

Hassan was found guilty of terrorising the Umzimkhulu area between January and December 2022, where he targeted women living alone or with their children.

Operating under the cover of darkness between 02:00 and 03:00, Hassan broke into residential homes, demanded cellphones and cash, and subsequently raped his victims.

Detectives from the Kokstad Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit successfully linked Hassan to all six crime scenes through DNA evidence.

In addition to the life terms, the court handed Hassan an extra eight years for housebreaking.

In a separate matter processed during a busy end-of-month session for the regional court, the Kokstad FCS secured another life sentence for a 45-year-old man who raped his 5-year-old niece.

The incident occurred on 28 December 2025 within the Gowan Lea policing precinct.

The court heard how the uncle lured the young child away from a neighbour’s house to his home, chased away the victim’s brother who tried to follow, and violated the toddler.

The court further demonstrated its uncompromising stance on sexual offences by sentencing a 19-year-old woman to 20 years of direct imprisonment.

The teenager was found guilty of digitally raping her 9-year-old neighbour after luring the child into her room in the Ibisi area.

According to police officials, the names of all the convicted individuals will be permanently entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders.

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