Convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, dubbed the “Facebook Rapist”, made his first appearance in the Durban Magistrate’s Court in 2011. He pleaded guilty to all charges, including rape and robbery.
running social networks to communicate with wannabe models.
It is not the first time that Bester is making headlines. Twelve years ago, the Durban Magistrate’s Court slapped Bester with a maximum sentence of 60-years, 10 of which were suspended. Durban-based SABC News journalist, who covered Bester’s case, Nonjabulo Mntungwa-Makamu, says there was a huge hype around the case.
“It was around October 2011, it was one of the big stories that every media house in KZN wanted to actually cover. Inside court if I can tell you it was packed to the maximum because he had gained popularity of being the “Facebook Rapist” and when he walked in and we were shocked.
Magistrate Sharon Marks who presided over Bester’s rape case gave him a maximum sentence. Mntungwa-Makamu recalls the handing down of the hefty sentence which was welcomed by many. “When the magistrate was handing down the sentence, she was not lenient at all because when Bester was trying to mitigate the sentence by asking the court to be lenient to him because he had pleaded guilty. He had said that he was molested as a child and he was actually remorseful and he was crying at that time in court.
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