Judge Papi Mosopa handed down the sentence shortly after 3pm on Thursday. The ruling was met with cheers from the gallery.
Ninow admitted to raping a seven-year-old girl at a Dros restaurant in Silverglen, Pretoria, last year.
Mosopa also handed Ninow five-year sentences for drug possession and for defeating the ends of justice. They are to run concurrently with the life sentence. It was also ordered that Ninow’s name be added to the sexual offenders’ registry.
In delivering judgment, Mosopa said the evidence was “overwhelming” against Ninow.
Mosopa added that the victim was now scared of being in the company of men, and that Ninow had violated a child he should have protected. He said rape was a degrading offence and was worse when committed on a vulnerable child.
Mosopa said Ninow appeared to be a broken person.
“The person who was supposed to protect him introduced him to drugs,” he said, in reference to evidence that Ninow’s mother brought drugs into his life.
The girl – according to forensic social worker Karen Botha, who compiled a victim impact assessment report on the girl and her family – has nightmares about Ninow every night, the court heard earlier on Thursday as part of arguments on mitigating and aggravating circumstances.
“She says she still sees the accused when she goes to bed,” Botha said.
The court earlier heard that Ninow had a “chaotic” childhood, and was exposed to drugs by his mother. He was also sexually abused.
Image (Facing life imprisonment Nicholas Ninow, will now know how it feels to rape an innocent child).
