Four men have each been handed life sentences for the rape of a 25-year-old woman in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

A total of five accused, aged between 19 and 24-years-old, appeared before the Port Elizabeth Regional court on Wednesday, 23 September 2020, where sentencing proceedings continued.

“In their resolve to fight crimes against women and children, the expertise and specialised training of our Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, is critical in ensuring that perpetrators of rape and sexual abuse are removed from society for a long time,” said the South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg.

In April 2017, the woman was on her way home from a store when as many as eight men accosted her, then dragged her to an abandoned house, where they then gang raped her.

“Five suspects were arrested on the 20 May 2017 and after appearing in court, they remained in custody for the duration of their trial,” Janse Van Rensburg further said.

On Wednesday, 23 September 2020, the five accused were found guilty and sentenced.

Another man, a 19-year-old who was a minor at the time of the incident, was sentenced to 25 years behind bars.

In August, a man in the province was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the rape of a 15-month-old baby, by the Bhisho High Court.

According to reports, the 62-year-old was friends with the child’s family. The toddler’s mother had left the child with the man’s wife.