Three convicted human traffickers are expected to be sentenced today in the Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha Bay, following their conviction for the kidnapping and trafficking of six-year-old Joshlin Smith.
Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis, and Steveno Van Rhyn were found guilty in connection with Joshlin’s disappearance from her Middlepos home in February last year. The young girl remains missing more than a year later.
State prosecutor, Advocate Zelda Swanepoel, has called for the court to impose life sentences, citing the severity of the crime and the continued absence of the child.
“We don’t have her, we don’t know where she is. We don’t know whether she is alive or not. We hope that she is still alive. But has she been exploited? We don’t know. Those are all the questions in the air — and all of that is aggravating,” said Swanepoel during proceedings. “We presented this evidence today to give a voice to Joshlin.”
Swanepoel also argued that the trio had planned to sell the child, describing the crime as calculated and heinous.
Meanwhile, legal counsel for Jacquen Appollis argued in mitigation that his client’s involvement was influenced by drug use at the time.
The court is expected to hand down sentencing later today, as the nation continues to search for answers and justice for the missing child.