BLOEMFONTEIN: The Sasolburg Regional Court has sentenced a 37-year-old man from Zamdela Township in Sasolburg to 24 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of raping his biological daughter several times between 01 August 2020 and 15 November 2021. The father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the child, started raping the complainant when she 11-years-old.
The rapes took place when the mother was not at home. The mother realised that her daughter’s school performance has dropped drastically, and her behaviours at home had changed. She spoke to her, and she told her that she does not want to stay at home when the mother is not around, because her father is violating. The mother reported the incident, and the father was arrested.
In court, the father admitted that he has been raping his daughter, but he blamed the incidents on demons and told the court he was possessed by demons. The medical examination of the daughter confirmed that she has been violated.
State Prosecutor presented a victim impact statement (VIS) in which the complainant stated that she was traumatized by the incident, and she is struggling to pay attention in class, and this has affected her academic performance. She further said she sometimes feels like what happened is her fault.
The defence lawyer requested that the accused be sentenced to a lesser sentenced because he showed remorse by pleading guilty, but the state prosecutor requested the court to impose life imprisonment because it’s a minimum sentence prescribed by law, but Magistrate Phumzile Ngewu sentenced the accused to 24 years imprisonment. She also ordered that the accused’s name should be included in the National Register for Sex offenders and further declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
