In South Africa, Nicholas Ninow, 21, has been found guilty of raping a seven-year-old last year in a restaurant after the she went to the toilet.

Ninow's trial lasted less than a week. In the trial, he pleaded guilty and explained that he had gone into the toilets to take drugs and when he found the girl in there he acted on impulse.

Judge Mokhine Mosopa rejected this explanation and said: “The only reasonable inference the court can draw is that the accused saw the victim playing in the play area, saw her going to the bathroom, followed her and then undressed and raped her."

The court heard graphic details of how Ninow raped the girl and threatened to kill her.

One of the witnesses, who testified during the trial last week, was the victim’s mother who told the court that she found Ninow naked in the bathroom with her daughter.

According to the mother, Ninow also told them not to disturb him as they tried to force the toilet stall open to rescue the girl who at this point was screaming for help.

The highly publicised trial has led to calls for harsher sentences for sexual offences.

The latest crime figures show that violent attacks on women and children have increased in the last year.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised “firm action” against what he has recently described as a national emergency. The court will resume on 16 October when lawyers will present arguments over the length of the sentence.