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A man who raped a woman in her farmhouse and tormented her children was found guilty on 17 counts in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Wednesday.
The charges against Sebenzile Simane, 32, included two of rape, an attempted rape, four of attempted murder, and compelling a child to witness a sexual act, said regional National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Tsepo Ndwalaza.
Ndwalaza said the NPA was very pleased with the conviction for Simane's "gruesome deeds" against a 45-year-old businesswoman and her three children.
Simane, who used to work on the farm, had pleaded not guilty to firing several shots to gain entry into the farmhouse outside of Hankey in March last year, before tormenting the family for hours, the Citizen reported.
The woman was shot in the buttocks while trying to protect her children.
TimesLive reported that she was raped twice, with her 12-year-old daughter forced to watch one of the attacks.
After tying them up, he had searched the house for valuables and then forced the woman to take him to an ATM so he could withdraw cash from her account.
The woman, who could not be identified in terms of a court order, testified that Simane had claimed her husband owed him money and wanted to know where he was as he wanted to kill him first and then the rest of the family, Netwerk24 reported.
"Terrified... we were like wild animals being hunted," she reportedly told the court at the time.
Ndwalaza could not immediately confirm when Simane would be sentenced.
