A South African woman identified as Racquel Smith has been sentenced to life imprisonment for selling her 6-year-old for 1.8 million naira. Judge Nathan Erasmus convicted Smith following an eight-week trial during which prosecutors and witnesses made allegations against her.
Additionally, the court condemned her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno Van Rhyn to a life sentence for being accomplices.
According to reports, Joshlin Smith mysteriously disappeared outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town. The police have not found Joshlin despite a highly publicized search for her after she went missing in February 2024.
During the trial, more than 30 witnesses testified, revealing details of the young girl’s troubled life leading up to her disappearance. However, Kelly Smith and her accomplices declined to testify or present any witnesses in their defense, choosing instead to remain silent throughout the trial.
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In addition, prosecutors said that the trio had sold Joshlin into slavery, but couldn’t indisputably prove it. Also, they believed that her mother, Smith, was addicted to drugs and needed money.
Nonetheless, the Judge found the three guilty of the two charges of human trafficking and kidnapping brought against them. He sentenced them to life behind bars for human trafficking and 10 years imprisonment for kidnapping.
Furthermore, Judge Erasmus rebuked the trio, emphasizing that Van Rhyn and Smith showed no remorse for their wrongdoings. He further noted that he imposed equal sentences on all three, making no distinction between them.
The Police also promised to continue with the search for the 6-year-old, even beyond the borders of South Africa.
