Rape after drinking spree

A KEETMANSHOOP resident was raped and assaulted after a drinking spree with two men at a local shebeen, the High Court at Keetmanshoop heard last week.

The 36-year-old rape victim told Judge Kato van Niekerk that Johannes Alex Roos had raped and assaulted her in a dry riverbed midday on February 5 2005. She further claimed that Immanuel Claassen attempted to rape her on the same day.”Roos called Claassen to have his turn after he had raped me,” she testified.The woman told the court that she and the two men were on their way to fetch more money from Roos’s employer’s house in the town’s Westdene residential area.But before they could reach their destination, Roos suddenly assaulted and raped her, she said.”He twisted my arm, threw me onto the ground and dragged me under a tree where he raped me,” she told the court.She testified that security guards came to her rescue when they heard her screams.At the start of the trial on Wednesday, Roos and Claassen pleaded not guilty.Roos is charged with rape while Claassen faces an attempted rape charge.During cross-examination defence lawyer Winnie Christians put it to the rape victim that she had consensual sex with Roos.She denied this.He further claimed that Claassen never tried to rape her.State prosecutor Ed Marondedze objected to the cross-examination of the victim, arguing that the defence counsel was unnecessarily prolonging the trial by repeating questions.Judge Van Niekerk dismissed the objection.The rape victim was under cross-examination for a day and a half.Local doctor Maxim Verkusha testified on Friday that the rape victim sustained injuries to both knees.However, he could not tell the court whether the injuries had been caused by a thorny tree branch, as claimed by the rape victim in her testimony.The trial continues today.She further claimed that Immanuel Claassen attempted to rape her on the same day.”Roos called Claassen to have his turn after he had raped me,” she testified.The woman told the court that she and the two men were on their way to fetch more money from Roos’s employer’s house in the town’s Westdene residential area.But before they could reach their destination, Roos suddenly assaulted and raped her, she said.”He twisted my arm, threw me onto the ground and dragged me under a tree where he raped me,” she told the court.She testified that security guards came to her rescue when they heard her screams.At the start of the trial on Wednesday, Roos and Claassen pleaded not guilty.Roos is charged with rape while Claassen faces an attempted rape charge.During cross-examination defence lawyer Winnie Christians put it to the rape victim that she had consensual sex with Roos.She denied this.He further claimed that Claassen never tried to rape her.State prosecutor Ed Marondedze objected to the cross-examination of the victim, arguing that the defence counsel was unnecessarily prolonging the trial by repeating questions.Judge Van Niekerk dismissed the objection.The rape victim was under cross-examination for a day and a half.Local doctor Maxim Verkusha testified on Friday that the rape victim sustained injuries to both knees.However, he could not tell the court whether the injuries had been caused by a thorny tree branch, as claimed by the rape victim in her testimony.The trial continues today.