A bishop from the Emmanuel Evangelist Church is to be sentenced in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after he was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl in 2016.

Luvuyo Gerald Hendrik appeared briefly in court on Wednesday, but the matter was postponed for a day because the magistrate was ill.

A group of supporters from NGO Ilitha Labantu, which advocates against crimes against women and girls in Gugulethu, protested outside the court and demanded that Hendrik be jailed for life.

Hendrik was convicted in December last year, more than three years after he was arrested for raping the girl, who he used to drive to and from school.

The girl’s mother told News24: “It’s been a long time now. I just want this to be over to have closure for me and my daughter.”

The mother cannot be named to protect the girl’s identity.

A well known evangelical church bishop is to be sentenced on Wednesday March 12, more than three years after he raped a schoolgirl, 15. Protest expected.

Source: News24