Cape Town - A 49-year-old man from Pretoria East has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping and assaulting his stepdaughter from the age of seven until 17.
The man from Willows was married to the victim’s mother.
According to the evidence before the court, when the girl was three years old, the stepfather started assaulting her.
However, when the child turned seven years old, he went a step further and started assaulting her physically and sexually until 2019, when she was 17 years old.
The incidents took place when the child’s mother was at work or away from the house.
In 2018, the teen told her stepfather she wanted to commit suicide as she was unable to deal with her experience.
The court heard instead of wanting to assist the girl, her stepfather pointed a firearm at her and threatened to kill her and her mother.
On January 15, 2019, the girl was raped again. This time the victim told her boyfriend what happened, and together, the couple reported the matter to the school social worker, who notified the police.
The stepfather was arrested on the same day but was only remanded in custody after his conviction.
After his arrest, the victim moved to stay with her grandparents and received counselling.
In court, the stepfather pleaded not guilty to charges against him.
During her testimony, the victim detailed the incidents to the court and how it affected her. She also stated she was a broken person who was dead inside.
During sentencing arguments, the State prosecutor told the court the stepfather abused a child he was supposed to protect. He showed no remorse for his actions and pleaded to the court to hand down a life sentence as it was only appropriate for his crimes.
The man was convicted on charges of four counts of rape, sexual assault, assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) and pointing a firearm on May 12.
Gauteng spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Lumka Mahanjana, said the sentence handed down by the court was welcomed by the NPA and said it hoped this would send a message to all perpetrators of violence against children.
“He was sentenced to life imprisonment for one count of rape, 10 years for three counts of rape, four years for sexual assault, three years for assault GBH, and three years for pointing of a firearm.
“The magistrate ordered that the sentences run concurrently,” Mahanjana said.