Featured Image Credit: Executive Mayor Andrè Truter/ Facebook
Topics: Crime, Parenting, True crime
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Crime, Parenting, True crime
A South African woman has received her sentence after she was one of three found guilty of kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter.
In February 2024, six-year-old Joshlin Smith disappeared from outside her home in Saldanha Bay, not far from Cape Town.
Joshlin has still yet to be found, however, the young girl's mother Racquel 'Kelly' Smith, boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and friend Steveno van Rhyn ended up on trial, accused of selling Joshlin to a 'sangoma' - traditional healer - who 'wanted her for her eyes and skin,' BBC reports.
Over 30 witnesses shared horrifying insights into what may've happened to Joshlin and earlier today (May 29), the judge revealed the trio's sentences.
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One friend and neighbor called Lourentia Lombaard was a state witness in the case.
She alleged Smith had told her she'd sold her daughter to a sangoma for 20,000 rand ($1,100).
"[The] person who [allegedly took] Joshlin wanted her for her eyes and skin," Lombaard said.
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A local pastor also claimed he heard Smith talking about selling her children in 2023.
He said he heard her stating figures as much as $1,100 but also said she'd accept $275.
It was also alleged by Joshlin's teacher Smith had said her daughter was 'inside a ship container' and 'on the way to West Africa'.
The trial - held at White City Multipurpose Centre - lasted eight weeks before concluding earlier today.
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'Dr[awing] no distinction' between them, Judge Nathan Erasmus sentenced each of the trio to life imprisonment.
Breaking the sentence down, he stated: "On the human trafficking charge, you are sentenced to life imprisonment. On the kidnapping charge, you are sentenced to 10 years imprisonment."
The search for Joshlin continues, with police releasing a statement to local media.
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Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile stated: "We will not rest until we find [out] what happened to Joshlin. We are continuing day and night looking for her."
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) resolved the sentence proves the six-year-old was 'sold [and] delivered to the intended buyer' for the purpose of 'exploitation, namely slavery or practices similar to slavery'.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.