By Emily Setona
QWAQWA – A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to an effective 30 years in prison after forensic evidence linked him to a series of serious crimes, including a rape and robbery case in QwaQwa.
Thato Shadrack Leeto was sentenced at the Virginia Regional Court on 30 August 2026 after entering into a plea and sentence agreement with the State on 15 charges.
The court imposed cumulative sentences totalling 145 years, with Leeto to serve an effective 30 years behind bars.
The charges included seven counts of rape, housebreaking, robbery and theft arising from cases reported between 2019 and 2022 in Virginia, Meloding and QwaQwa.
According to police, Leeto was linked to a case in Makwane, QwaQwa, where a young woman was allegedly robbed before being raped.
The case formed part of a wider investigation into a number of serious crimes committed across the province.
The investigation was taken over in November 2024 by Sergeant Mosiuwa Ntholeng of the Free State Provincial Serial and Electronic Crime Investigation Unit.
Ntholeng reviewed the case dockets, interviewed victims and witnesses and revisited crime scenes as investigators worked to establish links between the cases.
A breakthrough came through forensic evidence, which linked Leeto to 13 case dockets registered in Virginia and Meloding.
Police said investigators also traced victims and complainants in different parts of the province as they worked to strengthen the cases against the suspect.
The court declared Leeto unfit to possess a firearm and ordered that he be registered in the National Register for Sex Offenders.
The State was represented by Control Prosecutor Charmaine Labuschagne, assisted by Prosecutor Nthoto Chabane, while Regional Magistrate Mgudlwa presided over the matter.
Free State Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Thabang Lesian commended the investigating officers and other role-players for their work in securing the conviction.
SAPS said the case highlighted the role of forensic evidence and sustained investigation in linking seemingly separate cases and bringing repeat offenders before the courts.
