South Africa was shaken to its core when the story broke that a man had sexually assaulted a young girl in the bathroom of a Dros restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria.

As details of the case emerged, so did video footage of the man, who was discovered in the bathroom with the seven-year-old girl, by her mother.

The man was then revealed to be Nicholas Ninow (before his court appearances below), who now stands accused of rape. He has already made claims that he was a victim of police brutality when he was detained after his arrest.

Now, according to The South African, he intends to defend himself with an insanity plea when he appears back in court on Thursday:

Activist group #NotInMyNameSA [NIMSA] have claimed they now have it “on good authority” that Ninow plans to plead insanity. It’s a decision that has enraged the group, who now believe the defence plan to blame his mother for negligence in an attempt to get Ninow off the hook.

The group released a statement on Twitter condemning the plea, and denouncing claims that the blame lies with anyone other than the accused:

We have it on good intel that #NicholasNinow aka #DrosRapist will intend on pleading Not Guilty for Reasons of Insanity..read our statement below..as we go to engage the Prosecutors..Let us meet at court on Thursday at 8:30am and Make sure that he stays in Prison. #countryduty pic.twitter.com/B0fYGoNxOW

— #NotInMyNameSA (@NotInMyNameSA) October 30, 2018

Whether or not Ninow has grounds for insanity will be decided by a number of factors. Here’s the definition of being criminally insane:

If the defence raises an insanity plea, then the judge has to consider if the suspect is aware of the gravity of the situation or the consequences of their actions:

A person who commits an act which constitutes an offence and who at the time of such commission suffers from a mental illness or mental defect which makes them incapable –

(a) of appreciating the wrongfulness of their act; or

(b) of acting in accordance with an appreciation of the wrongfulness of their act, shall not be criminally responsible for such act.

It’s also worth noting that the burden of proof lies with the defence. No-one who enters a courtroom will be assumed criminally insane. It will be up to the defence to prove he can’t stand trial – should they go that route – rather than the state having to prove he is sane enough.

In cases like this, the courts will rely heavily on medical evidence. The accused must be proven to have limited or no capacity to appreciate the trial proceedings or conduct a proper defence.

In the interim, NIMNSA intends to protest the acceptance of the plea outside the courts, in an effort to make sure that Ninow stays in prison.

[source:southafrican]