56
on what is essentially a single offence and consequently, would amount to a
duplication of punishment.
Sentence
[99]
It is trite that a court of appeal may only interfere with a sentence imposed by
the trial court if there has been a material misdirection or the sentence
imposed is shocking, startling, or disturbingly inappropriate.
[100] As a first offender for the multiple rape of a minor, and for trafficking a person
for sexual purposes, the appellant faced life imprisonment in terms of Part 1 of
Schedule 2 of s 51(1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997, unless
the trial court was satisfied that substantial and compelling circumstances
existed which justified the imposition of a lesser sentence in accordance with
s 51(3). However the charge sheet in respect of the count of trafficking did not
reflect the minimum sentence provision.
[101] We note the distinction between Part 1 of Schedule 2 (which refers to s 71 of
the Sexual Offences Act) on the one hand, and s 305(8) of the Children’s Act
on the other, which stipulates that a maximum of 10 years imprisonment may
be imposed for child trafficking. It would appear that the distinction lies in the
purpose of the trafficking, given that s 285(1) of the Children’s Act (creating
the statutory offence of child trafficking) does not specifically refer to trafficking
for sexual purposes. This indicates to us that the legislature regards the
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