Paedophile loses appeal against life sentence for raping 7-year old in resto toilet

In 2019, the high court of Pretoria, South Africa sentenced 21-year-old Nicholas Ninow to life in prison for raping a minor. Under the influence of alcohol and drugs, Ninow targeted a seven-year-old girl in Dros restaurant. After raping the child, he held her captive in the toilet as her mother and restaurant workers tried to rescue her. Ninow's application for leave to appeal against his conviction was heard on Friday and rejected on Tuesday.

On September 22, 2018 Ninow was spotted close to the children's play area at the restaurant. Witnesses claimed that Ninow was already drunk and high. Prosecutor Dora Ngobeni told the court that Ninow had been observing his young victim in the play area before his attack. Ninow's lawyer, Herman Alberts, argued that the act was not premeditated.

According to Alberts, Ninow was in the toilet taking drugs when the child walked in on him. He then acted "impulsively" and sexually assaulted the child. The child's absence alerted the mother, who could hear her screaming for help inside the toilet.

Ngobeni argued that Ninow was aware of his actions as he tried to prevent the child's mother from entering the toilet. Finally, with the help of restaurant workers, the mother was able to enter the toilet and pull the girl out.

When the mother managed to enter the toilet, she saw Ninow wiping his genitals with the girl's underwear and tights. He then tried to get rid of the evidence by flushing it down to the toilet. This further proved that Ninow was aware of the criminal offence he had committed.

Ninow was handed a life sentence for the sexual assault and 10 years for drug possession and defeating the ends of justice. Ninow will have to serve a minimum of 25 years before he is eligible for parole. He tried to get leave to appeal his sentencing.

Judge Mokhine Mosopa denied to grant him the leave to appeal, stating that there was no prospect of a successful appeal in his case, The Sun reported.