STEPFATHER SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPPING HIS 14-YEAR-OLD STEPDAUGHTER
POLOKWANE: The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the conviction and subsequent sentencing of a 48-year-old man, who raped his stepdaughter aged 14 during November 2016 at Westenburg near Polokwane.
The Mankweng Regional Court found that the accused followed his stepdaughter to home after they attended a family gathering in the same area, leaving the victim’s mother behind. The little girl was in her bedroom preparing to sleep when the accused entered her room half naked and raped her.
According to information the mother later followed the two and when she entered their home she found her husband half naked in the passage while her daughter crying in her room . The matter was not reported to Police, until the victim informed her stepmother after five years later while visiting her biological father in Pretoria on 29 January 2021. A case of rape against the accused was opened at Mayville Pretoria. Gauteng Province.
The case was transferred to Westenburg Saps and assigned to Warrant Officer Makgane Stanley Ramonetha of the Polokwane FCS Unit. The meticulous investigation by the Investigation Officer ensured that suspect was arrested on 14 February 2022.
On Thursday, 09 February 2023 the accused was found guilty on a charge of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment . He was declared unfit to possess a firearm and his name will be included in the sexual offences register.
“We are grateful that the accused has finally received the hefty sentence which will bring peace to the victim and her family. We encourage women to stand bold and report any kind of sexual offences without fear and the Police will definitely arrest the perpetrators, ” said Lieutenant General Hadebe.
