[imagesource: Facebook / Justice for Raaths]

This story contains references to sexual assault and rape.

Willem Abram Raaths, or Abrie Raaths, is serving life behind bars after his 2017 conviction for raping his daughter, Megan.

He was actually sentenced to four life sentences by the Pretoria magistrate’s court that year.

Evidence from Megan, who was eight at the time of the rape, was pivotal in securing the conviction, In particular, her hand-drawn image set in motion the events that led to Raaths’ arrest and trial.

While this may sound like a cut-and-dry case, it’s actually anything but that and raises some interesting questions.

This past Sunday, Carte Blanche was on the case:

Within months [of Megan drawing the image], father Abrie Raaths stood accused of raping his then-eight-year-old daughter, Megan. She now claims to have been coerced into testifying against him. Despite his daughter recanting her original testimony, Raaths was sentenced to life in prison.

Now, an astonishing case is unfolding in the Pretoria High Court in which a new investigation by the Department of Social Development could help exonerate a man who’s spent eight years languishing in a maximum security prison.

Carte Blanche asks: what does Raaths’ battle to have his sentence overturned reveal about similar allegations levelled against six other men?

A Facebook page, Justice for Raaths, has tracked each step of the legal process and the media coverage that has followed.

Perhaps Sunday’s segment will lead to further developments. Either way, it’s a case worthy of a much closer look:

[source:carteblanche]