The accused in the Deveney Nel murder case is a minor, but the crimes of which he is accused are definitely not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the 17-year-old boy appeared in the Caledon Magistrates\u2019 Court on a charge of murder in connection with the Grabouw 16-year-old\u2019s death last week, it has come to light that he has previously been accused of raping and assaulting a young girl when he was only 13 years old at the end of December 2020, shortly before he started his high-school career at Ho\u00ebrskool Overberg in Caledon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The provincial education department has confirmed the school was not aware of any alleged prior incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reports in Die Burger <\/em>and Rapport <\/em>over the weekend stated that the mother of the victim, who was only 11 at the time of the alleged incident, was later informed that it had been found that the accused couldn\u2019t be held criminally liable for his alleged deeds and that the case against her daughter\u2019s alleged rapist had been withdrawn in June last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The media reports also stated that it was recommended that the accused be enrolled in a sex offenders\u2019 programme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The provincial Department of Social Development confirmed it has launched an extensive investigation into the matter since being informed of the allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen the Western Cape Government was made aware of the alleged incident and subsequent allegations, we immediately started looking into what may have transpired,\u201d the department stated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe will be tracking down the case files and all relevant documentation related to this alleged incident to get a comprehensive understanding of the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have also reached out to the Department of Justice and the [police] so we may have all the relevant related information. So far we can confirm the department\u2019s records show it did not receive a referral from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to the Children\u2019s Court for the alleged matter the media are referring to. If, after gathering all the case file information from all provincial government\u2019s departments and other organisations, we find that further investigations are required we will not hesitate to do so, and do so thoroughly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur department\u2019s social workers and those from designated child-protection organisations work incredibly hard to ensure the protection of vulnerable children as per national legislation, often under difficult circumstances, and we value them deeply. If there were failures in our system we will address them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe will keep the members of the public informed, where we are legally able to, as we gather more information and encourage anyone to come forward if they have further information.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outcries on social media platforms for the suspect to be \u201cnamed and shamed\u201d intensified over the weekend. Details of the alleged rape were also published in Die Burger <\/em>and<\/span>Rapport.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But despite these outcries, legal experts say the minor\u2019s identity might never be revealed.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Child Justice Act, which is applicable in the case as the accused is younger than 18, Deveney\u2019s alleged killer will be prosecuted as a juvenile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eric Ntabazalila, spokesperson for the NPA in the Western Cape, added: \u201cIf the accused turns 18 before the conclusion of the criminal proceedings, and if convicted, he will be sentenced as set out in S v N and Another, where it was held that: \u2018when a person commits an offence while under the age of 18, their conduct falls to be judged in the context of these considerations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018It would make no sense then to treat them as adults for sentencing purposes simply because the intervening passage of time has resulted in their being adults when sentencing occurs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat would mean punishing them for what they had done as children as if it had been done when they were adults\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether more charges may be added to the case, and whether it might be transferred to the Western Cape High Court at a later stage will be determined at a later stage, Ntabazalila added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked whether the media will be allowed to attend the court proceedings once the accused turns 18, Ntabazalila stated: \u201cIt will depend on the circumstances and considerations of this matter at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The accused was arrested hours after he reportedly attended a special memorial service for Deveney on Friday 16 August. The service was limited to staff, learners and parents of Ho\u00ebrskool Overberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The teenager, said to have been a Grade 11 learner at Ho\u00ebrskool Overberg, reportedly also assisted in the search for Deveney after her mother reported her missing when she failed to show up for her lift club travelling from the school in Caledon to the family\u2019s home in Grabouw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deveney\u2019s body was discovered hours later on Wednesday 7 August, in a small storeroom on the school\u2019s premises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The murder investigation was taken over by the provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Unit under the leadership of Brigadier Leon Hanana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The allegations of rape against the teenager, who now faces a charge of murder, serves as a stark reminder of another case in the Overberg, where a young girl, Delvinia Europa, was raped and murdered by a man who was released back into society after being convicted of a 12-year-old girl\u2019s rape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reagan Zietsman received a five-year suspended sentence for the rape in January 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Two years later, while the suspended sentence was still in effect, he was arrested for the six-year-old Delvinia\u2019s murder and rape in March 2019. He received two life sentences for Delvinia\u2019s murder and rape as well as a sentence of eight years\u2019 imprisonment for kidnapping and five years for defeating the ends of justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time, Delvinia\u2019s father, Dawid Jagers, said although he was satisfied with the sentence, he felt his daughter\u2019s death may have been pre\u00advented if Zietsman was behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf he received a heavy sentence the first time, my child would still have been alive,\u201d Jagers pointed out.. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The accused in the Deveney Nel murder case is a minor, but the crimes of which he is accused are definitely 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protected<\/strong> <\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Background<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Stark reminder<\/h1>\n\n\n\n