PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – OCTOBER 02: Nicholas Ninow, accused of raping a 7-year-old child appears at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on October 02, 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa. Ninow, 20, allegedly raped a 7-year-old girl in the bathroom of Dros restaurant on September 22. The case was postponed to November 01, 2018 and the suspect remains in custody – Photo: Gallo Images / Sowetan / Thulani Mbele / Canva
PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – OCTOBER 02: Nicholas Ninow, accused of raping a 7-year-old child appears at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on October 02, 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa. Ninow, 20, allegedly raped a 7-year-old girl in the bathroom of Dros restaurant on September 22. The case was postponed to November 01, 2018 and the suspect remains in custody – Photo: Gallo Images / Sowetan / Thulani Mbele / Canva
The man accused of raping a seven-year-old girl in a Pretoria Dros restaurant is returning to court on Tuesday morning. Nicholas Ninow has been the subject of intense media and public scrutiny since this shocking case was reported, but it seems there will be a few steps forward in the courthouse this morning.
Ninow was declared fit to stand trial last month, following a 30-day psychiatric evaluation in Weskoppies. After making six previous public appearances in the Pretoria Regional Court, Nicholas Ninow’s defence team have managed to push his trial back several times.
However, they’ve somewhat run out of road here: Tuesday is set to be a very important day for the future of the case – here’s what we can expect to unfold in Gauteng:
Nicholas Ninow latest – what’s happening on Tuesday 5 March
Formally charged
This is effectively what we’ve all been waiting for since September. It’s believed that the court will officially announce the charges that will be brought against Ninow, and what case he has to answer for.
Are we any closer to a plea?
Well, this has been an event that’s proved extremely difficult to predict. But once the charges are filed, the defence will have the option to enter their defendant’s plea. Put it this way: We’ve never been closer, but there are no guarantees in a case that has already taken so many twists and turns.
Trial date for Nicholas Ninow
The judge is expected to name the official start date of the trial – a major milestone for the Dros investigation. It’s likely that Nicholas Ninow will spend any time between now and his trial date behind bars, after turning down bail at the end of 2018.
Call him by his name?
If we get the plea after the charges are formally announced, then all media houses who are still refusing to name the alleged Dros rapist will be free to identify him. Boy, has this been a bone of contention…
Under media law, Nicholas Ninow’s identity was protected because he had not entered a plea, his victim was a child and the accused had not offered an explanation for his actions. Despite the NPA formally lifting these restrictions, some outlets prefer to stay on the side of caution.
- Nicholas Ninow has since completed his appearance in court on Tuesday – he received a trial date, but once again failed to enter a plea. Here’s our latest update on the situation, including the charges he will be facing when he’s back in the dock
