DCS hosts victim-offender dialogue

GEORGE NEWS - A sexual offender was in the spotlight during a public victim-offender dialogue (VOD) in Rosemoor held on Tuesday 30 November. This dialogue formed part of the Department of Correctional Services' (DCS) 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign.

Sheldon Botha (31) from Rosemoor was sentenced in the Cape Town High Court in 2015 after he raped an elderly woman (86) a year before. He was 23 years old at the time of the incident. His victim has since passed on due to reasons not related to the incident.

Botha, who will only appear before the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) next year, was handed down an effective sentence of 12 years direct imprisonment for the offence. During his imprisonment in Oudtshoorn, Botha, who has been part of a restorative justice programme, applied for the VOD last year and the victim's family accepted his request.

During the event a number of speakers, including the DCS Southern Cape commis-sioner and acting deputy commissioner at Pollsmoor prison, Ndileka Booi, spoke about the importance and effectiveness of restorative justice and VODs.

According to the victim's grandson, Horatius Strydom, the victim forgave Botha before she died and wanted the family to do the same.

DCS Area Commissioner of the Southern Cape and Acting Deputy Commissioner at Pollsmoor Prison Ndileka Booi said she has full confidence that they have done what they could to correct Botha and believes that he deserves a second chance.

"What he did was despicable. I looked him in the eyes and he took me through the whole event. I could see he needed help. He genuinely asked for forgiveness," Strydom said.

Speaking to his own family and that of the victim, Botha said that he doesn't know why he did what he did. He admitted to being under the influence of alcohol and drugs that night.

"I have been exposed to pornographic material since I was eight years old. At twelve I became sexually active and had certain sexual fantasies. Why did I choose someone that old? She was defenseless. I don't know what to expect when I get out [of prison], but I'm asking for forgiveness and support. If I get out, I will move back into the same community and I'm asking you to give me one chance to prove myself to you. I'm extremely sorry for what I did and I don't know how to make it up to anyone," he said.

An emotional Horatius Strydom, grandson of the victim, said they forgive Botha for the offence. Photos: Kristy Kolberg

The VOD comes as the department sets out on a series of events in the Southern Cape, aimed at highlighting the plight of gender-based violence victims and the role of DCS in the rehabilitation of offenders.

The dialogues are based on a theory of justice that considers crime, and wrongdoing, to be an offence against an individual or community, rather than just the state. Restorative justice, that fosters dialogue between victim and offender, shows the highest rates of victim satisfaction and offender accountability and further places the victim at the centre of the rehabilitation process.

The DCS choir singing the national anthem.