The Port Alfred Regional Court has handed down a life imprisonment sentence to Xolisa ‘Bonnie’ Snooks for rape, along with multiple additional sentences totaling 45 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances. The conviction stems from two separate violent attacks linked to Snooks through overwhelming forensic DNA evidence.
The successful prosecution, led by Detective Constable Sandra Catherine of the Port Alfred Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, presented forensic evidence corroborated by oral testimony. This evidence proved conclusive for Magistrate last week, resulting in the hefty sentences.
According to the court proceedings, the first attack occurred on Thursday, 27 January 2022, at approximately 17:50. Snooks raped a 14-year-old girl and robbed her of her cellphones in bushes near the R67 in the Thornhill area of Port Alfred.
The second incident took place more than two years later, on Thursday, 7 November 2024, around 23:00. In this attack, Snooks threatened a 20-year-old woman with a panga (machete) and robbed her of her cellphone. He then forced the victim to a shack in the New Rest area of Port Alfred, where he raped her.
After being convicted, Snooks was sentenced as follows last week:
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Count 1 (Rape, first incident): Life imprisonment.
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Count 2 (Robbery with aggravating circumstances, first incident): 15 years of direct imprisonment.
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Count 3 (Rape, second incident): 15 years of direct imprisonment.
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Count 4 (Robbery with aggravating circumstances, second incident): 15 years of direct imprisonment.
The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently. The life sentence remains in effect.