Without the thorough implementation of the National Register of Sex Offenders (NRSO), rapists like Reagan Zietsman get a chance to repeat their crime — for a third time.
On Tuesday Zietsman pleaded guilty in the Bredasdorp Magistrate’s Court on charges of murder and rape of the 6-year-old Delvina Europa last year. In January 2017 he was also convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl. The five-year prison sentence for this crime was however suspended with conditions.
“It is unacceptable that the rights of a sex offender outweigh that of a victim. Until government can guarantee that the NRSO is run properly, the public has a right to know who these monsters are. We need to protect our vulnerable children and women,” says Daleen Gouws, spokesperson for Action Society.
The pressure group calls on the government to publish the names of convicted sex offenders on the NRSO and to make the list public. Action Society appeals to the public to support their petition (www.actionsociety.co.za/national-register) by signing it.
Europa was the fifth child murder in the Overberg region since 2013.
“The fact that Zietsman was good friends with the victim’s father once again is proof that these atrocities are happening right under our noses. It is time to join hands and fight together so that vile deeds like these do not go unpunished and end within our communities. A sixth victim should not be added to the list if the government keeps their promises on gender-based violence (GBV) and the NRSO.”
Action Society is busy with proposals to government that the NRSO should be privatized. The registrar of the NRSO last week admitted to them that numerous schools had tried to obtain NRSO clearance certificates before appointments were made in the past. It was however useless since the register has not been updated since its implementation in 2009.
“Consequently there is no control over whether teachers in our children’s classrooms are sex offenders or not. Never mind the status of adoptive or foster parents,” says Gouws.
ISSUED BY: Action Society
DATE: 26 August 2020
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Daleen Gouws,
Spokesperson: Action Society,
Cell: 0812338351
