Omaruru rapist of pregnant woman gets 20 years in jail

AN UNEMPLOYED resident of Omaruru with a criminal record stretching back to 1982 was once again sent to prison yesterday – this time to serve a 20-year term for rape.

The Swakopmund Regional Court convicted Petrus Nate Wasserfall (37) on a charge of raping a seven-months-pregnant woman in mid-2003. Wasserfall had been released from prison only a matter of weeks before he committed the rape at Omaruru on July 26 2003.Wasserfall denied the charge against him, but had his claims of innocence rejected by Magistrate Gert Retief yesterday.During the trial, the Magistrate heard testimony that Wasserfall and the complainant in the case had known each other before the incident took place.They met each other at a shebeen at Omaruru on the day of the incident, and spent time together while visiting the “Back of the Moon” and “Action Den” shebeens, the court heard.Event took a serious turn for the worse, however, when Wasserfall dragged the woman by her hair from “Back of the Moon”, the court heard.He forced her to a riverbed, and there, behind a rock, in broad daylight, he first punched her in the face and hit her with stones, and then raped her twice.She told the court that she only managed to get Wasserfall to stop when she told him that she was going into labour.Upon hearing that, Wasserfall ran from the scene.He did not return to his home until almost a week later, when he was arrested.He has remained in custody since then.Wasserfall has 10 previous convictions, most of which are for housebreaking and assault, on his criminal record.The first of these dates from 1982.Tania Tait conducted the prosecution against him on the rape charge.Wasserfall was represented by defence lawyer Ivo dos Santos.Wasserfall had been released from prison only a matter of weeks before he committed the rape at Omaruru on July 26 2003.Wasserfall denied the charge against him, but had his claims of innocence rejected by Magistrate Gert Retief yesterday.During the trial, the Magistrate heard testimony that Wasserfall and the complainant in the case had known each other before the incident took place.They met each other at a shebeen at Omaruru on the day of the incident, and spent time together while visiting the “Back of the Moon” and “Action Den” shebeens, the court heard.Event took a serious turn for the worse, however, when Wasserfall dragged the woman by her hair from “Back of the Moon”, the court heard.He forced her to a riverbed, and there, behind a rock, in broad daylight, he first punched her in the face and hit her with stones, and then raped her twice.She told the court that she only managed to get Wasserfall to stop when she told him that she was going into labour.Upon hearing that, Wasserfall ran from the scene.He did not return to his home until almost a week later, when he was arrested.He has remained in custody since then.Wasserfall has 10 previous convictions, most of which are for housebreaking and assault, on his criminal record.The first of these dates from 1982.Tania Tait conducted the prosecution against him on the rape charge.Wasserfall was represented by defence lawyer Ivo dos Santos.