FATHER SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR RAPING HIS SON
Peddie Regional court has sentenced a 54-year-old father to life imprisonment for raping his eight-year-old son, and additional five years for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was residing with his son at Mgababa village in the district of Peddie. On the afternoon of the 31 May 2023, the victim was coming back from school. The father instructed him to go fetch woods nearby, and when the victim came back the father chained him to a pole that was inside his house and raped him.
After raping the victim and the man locked the house and the young boy there. The boy managed to untie himself from the pole and ran to their neighbour’s house while the other end of the chain was still attached to his ankle. The neighbour alerted community members and police were called. The perpetrator was arrested the following day while hiding in his relative’s house in Motherwell, Gqeberha, more than 200 kilometres from the scene of the crime.
During the trial, prosecutor Thobani Matyeni led the evidence of three witnesses including, the minor victim, who testified on camera with and assistance of a court intermediary. Examining doctor’s report, which corroborated what was said by the victim and further indicated the injuries the victim sustained during the assault was submitted to the court. Despite his bare denials, the accused was found guilty. Victim impact statement (VIS) from the minor and secondary VIS from the mother, facilitated by Court Preparation Officers (CPOs), Asikelele Mtshabe and Busisiwe Matyalana, were presented for sentencing. In the VIS the victim expressly stated that he does not want to see his father again.
Delivering the sentence, Magistrate Fritz agreed with the prosecutor’s submission that the most aggravating factors were that the convicted rapist-father chained his son like an animal and further raped him, betraying the trust the young soul had in him as a parent. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, and that the offender’s name be entered in the national register for sex offenders.
Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, welcomed the sentence and commended the investigator, prosecutor, court intermediary and CPOs for ensuring that justice is served for the most vulnerable of our society. The child suffered the worst abuse at the hands of the person who was supposed to protect him, and our courts must ensure that people such as this monster of a father are removed from the communities.
