Notorious escapee Ananias Mathe is a hardened criminal with little chance of being rehabilitated, Judge Geraldine Borchers said on Tuesday as she sentenced him to in effect 54 years in jail.

Handing down the sentence in the High Court in Johannesburg, Borchers described Mathe as a very dangerous criminal who terrorised his victims and their dogs during his house robbery spree.

She said she doubted Mathe had a chance of being rehabilitated.

Mathe would be considered for parole only after serving 43 years of his sentence, by which time he would be 76-years-old.

He was convicted and sentenced for a total of 64 charges.

Borchers said although Mathe was convicted of many very serious offences, none of them attracted a life sentence, and she had imposed an appropriate sentence for each conviction.

The sentences added together would result in more than 100 years in jail, however some of the sentences would run concurrently.

Borchers said no human being would live long enough to serve such a long term.

"Such long sentences also make a mockery of the parole system. They may also be conducive to bad behaviour in prison."

Mathe was sentenced to 18 years for each of the six counts of rape and house robbery with an intent to rape. He received another 15 years for a seventh count of rape.

He was given 15 years for each of the six counts of housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery with aggravated circumstances.

The Mozambican was also sentenced to 15 years for each of his four convictions of attempted murder. He received 12 years for each house breaking with intent to rob and robbery and for each house breaking with intent to rape and attempted rape.

He was also convicted for theft, robbery, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, malicious damage to property, attempted rape, possession of implements for car breaking and housebreaking, housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, escaping from lawful custody and attempted escape from lawful custody.

Borchers said Mathe showed no remorse for what he had done as he pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him except the two escape charges.

She said Mathe's crimes were carefully prepared as, carrying a torch and firearm, he had surprised most of his victims in their bedrooms after having poisoned their dogs. He would then rob and rape most of his victims.

"The pets he terrorised were loved, they were not just guards. As it was seen during the trial, owners of the poisoned pets cried when they testified."

Borchers lashed out at Mathe for not using a condom when he raped his victims, saying he put them at risk of unwanted pregnancies, contracting sexually transmitted infections or being infected with HIV.

She said some of his victims were not able to go on living in their houses, some were still going for trauma counselling which did not necessarily work and others had left the country and were now living abroad.

Dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt, grey pants and brown shoes, Mathe was all smiles after the sentence was handed down. Asked how he felt, he gave a thumbs up.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said the sentences imposed were appropriate because of the humiliating manner in which Mathe had been terrorising society.

"He was a menace to society, it's befitting for him to be sentenced to jail for a long time."