Virginia Beach, Va. - A South African man and convicted rapist who has been charged for several more sexual offenses in Virginia Beach appeared in court Thursday.
Lesiba Simon Matsoake
Lesiba Simon Matsoake, 41, was charged with Sexual Battery, Abduction with Intent to Defile, and Sodomy by Force in Virginia Beach back in March. The crimes stem from two sexual assaults in 2004 and one sexual assault 2006.
He was found guilty of sexual battery for the first sexual assault on Thursday. His case will now go to the Grand Jury for the three felony charges.
All three victims involved in the Virginia Beach crimes testified in court on Thursday.
One of them told the court that she was approached by Matsoake in a Norfolk parking garage after a night of drinking. She said Matsoake told her that he would drive her home, but instead he took her to an industrial park on Thurston Avenue and forced her to perform sexual acts.
"I thought he was going to do what he wanted to do, then kill me," she said.
According to the Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney's Office, Matsoake went to South Africa in 2007. They say it took until 2012 to extradite him back to the United States by 2012, but he had to respond to rape charges in North Carolina before police could arrest him in Virginia Beach.
Court documents obtained by NewsChannel 3 show that the Governor of Virginia had to make an executive agreement with the Governor of North Carolina to interstate extradite Matsoake to Virginia Beach. The letter shows that the Commonwealth paid for Matsoake's extradition to the United States in the first place.
In August of 2014, Matsoake was convicted of rape in Dare County and sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison.
