The Pretoria magistrate’s court on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment a 49-year-old man who had raped and assaulted his stepdaughter on numerous occasions.
The man from Pretoria East had been found guilty on four counts of rape and counts of sexual assault and assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm.
The man and the child’s mother were married and living together with the child.
“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,” NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.
She said these incidents happened when her mother was at work or away.
“In 2018 the complainant told the stepfather that she wanted to kill herself because she was unable to deal with her experiences. The stepfather pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her and her mother.”
The man was arrested on January 15 2019 after he had raped her again.
The teenager told her boyfriend what had happened, and they reported the matter to a school social worker, who went to the police. The stepfather was arrested and remanded in custody after his conviction in May this year.
After his arrest, the child moved to her grandparents and received counselling.
In court, the man pleaded not guilty.
In aggravation of sentence, the prosecutor told the court the man abused a child he was supposed to protect and showed no remorse for his actions.
“The NPA welcomes the sentence and hopes it will send a message to all perpetrators of violence against children,” Mahanjana said.
TimesLIVE
Life sentence for Pretoria East man who raped his stepdaughter for years
Image: 123RF/Allan Swart
The Pretoria magistrate’s court on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment a 49-year-old man who had raped and assaulted his stepdaughter on numerous occasions.
The man from Pretoria East had been found guilty on four counts of rape and counts of sexual assault and assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm.
The man and the child’s mother were married and living together with the child.
“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,” NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.
She said these incidents happened when her mother was at work or away.
“In 2018 the complainant told the stepfather that she wanted to kill herself because she was unable to deal with her experiences. The stepfather pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her and her mother.”
The man was arrested on January 15 2019 after he had raped her again.
The teenager told her boyfriend what had happened, and they reported the matter to a school social worker, who went to the police. The stepfather was arrested and remanded in custody after his conviction in May this year.
After his arrest, the child moved to her grandparents and received counselling.
In court, the man pleaded not guilty.
In aggravation of sentence, the prosecutor told the court the man abused a child he was supposed to protect and showed no remorse for his actions.
“The NPA welcomes the sentence and hopes it will send a message to all perpetrators of violence against children,” Mahanjana said.
TimesLIVE
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