POLICE OFFICER SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPING HIS DAUGHTER
A member of the South African Police Service who cannot be named to protect the victim has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Galeshewe Regional Court after he was convicted of raping his 09-year-old daughter. The officer was charged with rape further read with the provisions of section 51(1) of Part 1 in Schedule 2 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997. On the night of the incident, 04 July 2023 the accused, the victim, and the stepmom slept on the same bed. During the night while they were all asleep, the victim felt someone pulling down her underwear and when she tried to pull them up the person kept on pulling them down, and when she looked at who was pulling her underwear, she noticed that it was her father. Due to his strength, the accused finally managed to address his daughter and began to rape her. She tried to reach out to her stepmom, but the accused grabbed her hand preventing her from reaching out to her stepmom. The victim later told the court through her testimony that she was afraid to scream hence she never screamed for help.
In the morning when her grandmother came to fetch her from the accused home, the victim informed her grandmother about what her father had done to her. The victim was taken for medical examination at the Galeshewe Thuthuzela Care Centre and the Forensic Nurse found/noticed the victim had indeed been victimised. The assistance of a Medical Doctor was sought, and a second examination was undertaken for a second opinion. The Doctor’s conclusion was also consistent with penetration. The accused, a police officer attached to one of the specialised units within the Police Service was arrested and charged with the rape of his daughter.
During the trial, Regional Court Prosecutor Advocate Shareen Theresa Links argued that the accused betrayed his own daughter, in that instead of being her protector he became her abuser. As a Police Officer, he should have been a model citizen, he should have known that his actions were unbecoming of an officer of the law. The prosecution further argued that the court should sentence the accused to life sentence as he had shown no remorse and that a clear message had to be sent to other perpetrators of Gender-Based Violence and femicide particularly those who are entrusted with protecting and upholding the law, that no one is above the law.
The victim testifying via Intermediary Services and through a Victim Impact Statement compiled with the assistance of Court Prep Officer Thandi Kraai detailed and comprehensively described what happened to her on the day and what her father did to her. When sentencing the accused, the court found the disgraced police officer and a father guilty of raping his daughter and the court sentenced him to Life imprisonment. The accused was declared unfit to possess a firearm. The Court also made an order for the accused name to be entered into the National Register of Sexual Offenders. He was also declared unfit to work with children.
The National Prosecuting Authority envisions that these types of sentences will provide some justice and closure to the victims as well as their families when these violent criminals are removed from our streets. All cases of sexual violence encroach on the rights to dignity and privacy of the victims as enshrined in our constitution hence the NPA will continue to aggressively prosecute these types of cases.
