The child disappeared in February 2024 in Saldanha Bay and has not yet been found, triggering a national search and great indignation in the country.
A South African court sentenced a woman to life imprisonment for selling her 6-year-old daughter in a case that caused indignation across the country.
Racquel Smith and two coarguids, her boyfriend and a friend, were sentenced to the maximum penalty of life imprisonment for human trafficking and 10 years for abduction, Judge Nathan Erasmus said.
“I don’t need to underline gravity [dos factos]: The abduction of a 6-year-old girl depriving her of her freedom of movements and her freedom, “added the judge of the High Court of the Western Cape.
Child was never found
The child disappeared in February 2024 of his home in Saldanha Bay, a small fishing town 135 kilometers north of Cape Town, and was never found.
Six weeks after the trial began, the woman was considered guilty to kidnap and sell the girl for 20,000 rands ($ 1,100).
“For the crime of human trafficking, he is sentenced to life imprisonment. For the crime of abduction, he is sentenced to ten years in prison,” said Erastus, under strong applause in the courtroom.
Police are still looking for the girl
The disappearance of the child triggered a national search operation and the child’s photography was widely released on social networks. Quoted by Police have ensured that searches continue in the country and beyond borders.
“We won’t rest until we find out what happened to Joshlin. We are still looking for her,” police commissioner Thembisile Patekile told local press.
The case caused a lot of excitement in the country, with a minister offering a reward of one million rand ($ 54,000) for their return safe.
South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world and children’s kidnappeds are increasing, according to official data.
