Durban — A man who raped his girlfriend’s child was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Madadeni Regional Court in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The 30-year-old man was found guilty of the rape of his girlfriend’s 10-year-old child in April 2022.
KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the man raped the child on two occasions when her mother was away from the house running errands.
“He threatened to kill both her and her mother if she told on him, and he used a knife to enhance his threats. The child did not report the incidents and then the mother eventually noticed that the child was behaving out-of-sorts and was even wetting the bed. She asked the child if anyone was touching her private parts and after some coaxing, she revealed what her stepfather was doing,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
She said the mother reported the incident to the police and he was arrested. The child was taken to the Madadeni Thuthuzela Care Centre, where she received medical and psycho-social assistance.
Regional Court Prosecutor Zwelisha Petros Mhlophe led the evidence of the child and her mother. Mhlophe also handed in a Victim Impact Statement compiled by the child’s mother and facilitated by Court Preparation Office Masande Mdiya.
Ramkisson-Kara said that in her statement, the woman said that the incident had completely changed her child’s behaviour. She said that the girl refused to interact with other children and was doing poorly at school. The woman also said that the child was now afraid of going out and preferred to stay at home.
“The man was sentenced to life imprisonment and the court declared him unfit to possess a firearm. The court further ordered that his name be added to the National Register for Sex Offenders, and the court found him unsuitable to work with children,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
“Rape is one of the most atrocious crimes that South Africa is plagued with and we hope that sentences of this nature will deter would-be offenders.”
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