A couple has been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for human trafficking and running a brothel.
Jude Ikenna Ijegulu, a 34-year-old Nigerian national, and his partner Elizabeth Botes, 29, from Centurion in Pretoria, received their sentences in the Pretoria High Court.
Ijegulu was sentenced to two life terms for two counts of rape, along with an additional two years for illegal presence in the country, according to the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
SABC reported on Saturday that the court ordered Ijegulu’s name to be added to the National Register of Sexual Offenders.
Lumka Mahanjana, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in Gauteng, welcomed the sentences, stating, “From November 2016 to September 2017, the couple operated a brothel in Centurion where they held two women captive. The man raped and physically and sexually assaulted the women, supplied them with drugs, and forced them to render sexual services to clients.”
“The Judge found them guilty of violating the Human Trafficking Act. The man enslaved the victims and subjected them to drug abuse,” Mahanjana concluded.
