The Khayelitsha regional court in Western Cape has jailed a 62-year-old pensioner to life in prison for the rape of his foster child which lasted more than 10 years.
The court heard that the convicted rapist, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, lived with his wife and four other foster children.
The state alleged that he sexually abused and raped the victim from the age of seven until she reported her ordeal to a social worker when she was 17 years.
The victim had been accommodated in various homes before she was finally placed in the care of the pensioner and his wife.
Eric Ntabazalila, regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, detailed what the girl went through.
“The victim told the court that she and her siblings [other foster children] would sit on the floor to watch TV while the accused inserted his toe into her private parts,” he said.
“The accused worked the night shift at a local garage and his wife worked during the day.
“The victim would come from school and the accused would pull up her skirt and insert his fingers into her private parts. She thought this was normal. It was her normal.”
Prosecutor Ilana Bester told the court: “As she grew older, she was tasked with taking his meals to his workplace or bringing him his raincoat if it was raining.
“She was the only sibling tasked with this and it created animosity, as other siblings felt he favoured her, until she informed them at the age of 11 that he instructed her to get into his bed and have sex with him.
“She testified that the only time she would get a break was when family members of the accused from Eastern Cape visited.”
Bester said the rapes carried on weekly.
“The rapes happened three to four times per week and she also had to cook for the accused. She felt nobody believed her and out of fear she just did as she was told.
“She respected him and [his] authority of being the father. When she went to high school, she started keeping a diary, writing down her feelings and documenting dates and times of the rapes.”
The court heard that the rapes continued when she was in high school.
She would come from school, ordered to cook, go to his bedroom, lift her skirt, lie on the bed, and be raped.
She reported the incidents to her teacher, who called in her parents to discuss the matter, but nothing came from the discussions.
The child was banned from playing outside with other children or to socialise with school mates, as she had to cook and be repeatedly raped by the accused.
At 17, she attended an after-school drama concert and came home late.
She had asked her foster mother to attend with her, but when a learner transport driver dropped her off at home, the accused stormed out of the house and cursed the driver.
He accused the driver of being promiscuous and said he was having an affair with the girl. The following day, she approached a social worker and disclosed what had been happening.
The accused and his wife were arrested and the wife was charged with failure to report a sexual assault against a child.
She entered into a plea and sentencing agreement and was handed five years correctional supervision.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the accused’s continuous changing of instructions and legal counsel, his trial only commenced in 2023.
The social worker and the victim’s siblings were called to testify in court.
Testifying in aggravation of sentence, the victim said she felt it was her fault and that if her biological mother never gave birth to her, this would never have happened to her.
She thanked the state for finally making her feel like she was part of a family, and the court ordered that she receive ongoing counselling.
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