15 years for Desert Express rape

TREVOR PIETERSE, the man accused of raping a female tourist on the Desert Express train two years ago, was yesterday sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment after he was found guilty in the Swakopmund Magistrate’s Court.

The sentencing concluded a case that stemmed from an incident that happened on board the luxury train on August 23 2003. Pieterse (23), a waiter on the Desert Express at the time, raped a 43-year-old Japanese tourist after entering the compartment she was sleeping in by using a master key.Pieterse, a Windhoek resident, was arrested when the train arrived at Swakopmund the next morning.He was granted bail of N$800 in October 2003.He was summarily dismissed from his job at the Desert Express catering company, Sodexho, shortly after the incident.Magistrate Gert Retief said the State had made a solid case and its witnesses were credible beyond doubt, in contrast with the defendant, who contradicted himself in his testimony.Pieterse (23), a waiter on the Desert Express at the time, raped a 43-year-old Japanese tourist after entering the compartment she was sleeping in by using a master key.Pieterse, a Windhoek resident, was arrested when the train arrived at Swakopmund the next morning.He was granted bail of N$800 in October 2003.He was summarily dismissed from his job at the Desert Express catering company, Sodexho, shortly after the incident.Magistrate Gert Retief said the State had made a solid case and its witnesses were credible beyond doubt, in contrast with the defendant, who contradicted himself in his testimony.