58-year-old Louis Pepping, a former Eastern Cape Department of Education advisor was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday at the High Court in Mthatha.
Reports suggest that Pepping was sentenced for raping a six-year-ood girl, the crime is believed to have taken place in Ngobozana Locality in the district of Lusikisiki in September 2019.
He is currently serving a four-year prison term for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old learner in June 2021.
Acting Judge Mvuzo Notyesi delivered a judgement and agreed with the state that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances justifying a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment for raping a minor.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, Judge Notyesi noted that Pepping never showed any remorse for his crime and was unimpressed by the evidence presented in mitigation of sentences – “That he was a church elder and has children whose names he does not even know”.
The High Court and the prosecution agreed that “Pepping is a highly educated man who should have known better”, and ordered that his name be entered into the national register of sex offenders.
