In September of last year, South Africa was shaken by the news that a young child had been raped in the bathrooms at the Dros restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria.

Since then, the perpetrator, Nicholas Ninow, has been involved in a very public and ongoing court case which you can read about here, here and here.

Ninow took the stand today in the Pretoria High Court at his sentencing, having been found guilty of rape, possession of an illegal substance, and defeating the ends of justice.

During his time on the stand, he revealed that he started using drugs when he was 13, reports TimesLIVE.

He was introduced to “chemical” drugs by his mother. “The first time I consumed chemicals was with my mother.”

He said his mother had always been on drugs.

He described his relationship with his mother, who is 37 years old, as that of brother and sister.

He also read a long and difficult-to-listen-to poem to the family of his victim:

Who the hell told him that it was a good idea to read out a poem?

Sentencing proceedings have been adjourned for the day – you can get up to speed with what happened via News24.

[source:timeslive]