A 49-year-old man was on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of raping his step-daughter.
Pretoria magistrate’s court handed down the sentence for one count of rape, 10 years for three counts of rape, four years for sexual assault, three years for assault with grievous bodily harm, and three years for pointing of a firearm.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the perpetrator raped the victim while the mother was at work or away.
NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the step-father pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“When the child was three-years-old, the stepfather started assaulting her. However, when she was seven, he started to assault her both sexually and physically until 2019, when she was 17 years old,” said Mahanjana.
“In 2018, the complainant told the step-father that she wanted to kill herself because she was unable to deal with her experiences. Instead, the step-father pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her and her mother.
“When the stepfather raped her again in 2019, she told her boyfriend what had happened and together they reported the matter to the school social worker, who reported to the police. The same day, the step-father was arrested but was only remanded in custody after his conviction.
“After his arrest, the child moved to stay with her grandparents and received counselling. The victim testified in court that the incidents affected her and that she is now a broken person who is dead inside.”
The state prosecutor told the court that the perpetrator abused the child he was supposed to protect and showed no remorse for his actions, adding that a sentence of life imprisonment is appropriate.
For more crime stories click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
