A 31-year-old Mpumalanga stepfather has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of a 7-year-old child. 

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the the victim, was arrested on February 23 2018 for the crime which he committed a day before. 

According to the police, the man ordered his four-year-old stepdaughter to guard the door for her mother while he raped the seven-year-old stepdaughter on February 22 2018. 

The ordeal was uncovered by neighbours who saw the victim limping when coming from school the next day. 

“The victim, 7, was asleep when the stepfather ordered her younger sister, 4, to watch the door while he raped her. The next day, the child, coming from school, was seen by neighbours who questioned the reason for her limping. 

"She disclosed to them everything what befallen her and the neighbours informed the mother. However, she was reluctant to believe the information. The neighbours took it upon themselves to report the matter to the police and the suspect was arrested on February 23 2018 at Kgwaditiba Trust in Green Valley near Bushbuckridge where the incident happened,” said spokesperson of the Mpumalanga police Brig Leonard Hlathi.

Hlathi said the girls were taken to a place of safety when the stepfather was granted a R1,000 bail by the court. 

Magistrate Annemarie Theron, when passing the sentence, said the suspect showed no remorse and still denies what he did to the child. 

A report from a social worker indicated that the victim can no longer hold urine because of the ordeal and her peers are making fun of her about that. 

Theron also declared the accused unfit to possess a firearm and that his name will be entered in the national register for sex offenders.

Mpumalanga provincial commissioner of the police thanked the community for breaking the silence and reporting the matter themselves. 

“I am delighted that another rapist has been removed from the society and that the sentencing will send a strong message to gender-based violence perpetrators. Again, what the neighbours did is what can help us as the country to deal with child and women abuse where people should report to the police where law have been broken,” said commissioner.