IN SOUTH AFRICA: Mother gets life for trafficking 6-year-old daughter

International

FOR kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter, a South African woman was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The woman’s two accomplices were also meted with the same penalty.

In a report by BBC, the jail terms for Racquel "Kelly" Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn came more than a year after Joshlin Smith mysteriously disappeared outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town.

The girl went missing in February 2024 and is yet to be found despite a highly publicized search.

South African prosecutors said the girl was sold into slavery but this was not definitively proven during the trial.

It was believed that Smith was addicted to drugs and needed the money.

The handing of the sentence came after a n eight-week trial that captivated South Africa.

Witnesses and prosecutors made shocking allegations.

In the BBC report, Judge Nathan Erasmus found no distinction between the trio in handing down the sentences.

"On the human trafficking charge, you are sentenced to life imprisonment. On the kidnapping charge, you are sentenced to 10 years imprisonment," he said, drawing loud applause in the courtroom.

The judge took an hour to deliver the sentence and was measured as he gave a brief summary of the case.

As the judge highlighted points that stood out during the trial, he rebuked the three accused, especially Van Rhyn and Smith, saying they showed no remorse for their actions.

"There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming or deserving of a lesser sentence," he said.(MyTVCebu)