Fifty-year-old Alfred Swartz was on Wednesday sentenced to 40 years in jail after he was found guilty on numerous charges of rape.
Swartz appeared at the Calvinia regional court in the Northern Cape where he was found guilty of the crimes. He was charged with two counts of statutory rape and four counts of rape, with one of his victims being his biological daughter.
His reign of terror started in 2013, with his youngest victim being younger than 16 years old. It is alleged that initially, she gave her consent to sleep with the perpetrator.
The National Prosecuting Authority’s regional spokesperson, Mojalefa Senokoatsane, said the accused had a sexual relationship with the child who was 14 years old at the time.
“The accused became possessive, resulting in him assaulting the child, and when she later refused to have sexual intercourse with the accused, he raped her,” said Senokoatsane.
“The case was reported and the accused was charged with statutory rape. The suspect was arrested and his bail was successfully opposed by the prosecution.”
In 2015, he started raping his biological daughter, who was eight-years-old at the time of the offence.
“These incidents occurred regularly over a period from 2015 to 2021,” said Senokoatsane, adding that it was reported to the police by the child’s mother.
Senokoatsane said another victim was from Brandvlei and had been raped in 2013. The victim, however, left the town and opened a case in Kakamas.
“The accused was remanded in custody until the start of his trial.”
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