Cape Town - The man convicted of kidnapping and murdering eight-year-old Tazne van Wyk was in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday sentenced to nine life terms.
Moehydian Pangaker, 57, was found guilty of 21 of 27 charges in October.
These charges include eight counts of rape of children, sexual assault, sexual exploitation of children, several counts of assault on child, kidnapping, incest, desecration of a corpse and absconding from parole.
While Pangaker maintained his innocence throughout the trial, Judge Alan Maher did not mince his words as he delivered his judgment in October last year.
He described Pangaker as a sexual predator with a high sex drive who preyed on little girls.
During his sentencing, Maher said Pangaker was a deceitful, manipulative and cruel individual who could not be placed back into society.
"After he kidnapped Tazne, he had ample opportunity to change his mind. She died alone, away from her family in the dark and most probably in a lot of pain,“ Maher said.
“The accused was not content on just raping, kidnapping and murder Tazne but desecrated her body and discarded her in a storm water drain. Her body had works and the impact it has in her parents, family cannot be described. It's permanent.”
He also said Pangaker knew Tazne's family was frantic and the community was angry, this was evident by the calls he received from relatives. Yet he did not care.
"He's motive was purely sexual," Maher said.
The girl, from Connaught Estate, in Ravensmead, was last seen on February 7, 2020, after she left her home to buy a sucker lollipop at a shop, a few metres from her home.
The child’s body was found in a stormwater drain, along the N1 highway in Worcester, 12 days later. Pangaker had pointed it out to the police.
IOL