Oudtshoorn man sentenced for incest and repeated rape of his daughter

While the sentencing of an Oudtshoorn man to life imprisonment and 30 years for the horrific crimes of repeatedly raping and impregnating his minor daughter has been commended by anti-gender-based violence groups, serious concerns have been raised about the alarming number of warning signs that are routinely overlooked in such cases.

The Oudtshoorn Regional Court has sentenced a 59-year-old man to an effective life sentence and 20 years' direct imprisonment after he pleaded guilty.

The man has been convicted of sexual violation of his 13-year-old daughter, her repeated rapes over two years and incest. 

His victim is his own child, born after he raped her mother (the victim’s mother) when she was 16 years old.

Oudtshoorn Regional Court Prosecutor, Hyron Goulding, called the victim’s mother, who testified in aggravation of sentence that the accused raped her when she was 16 years old. 

Goulding led evidence that the 13-year-old victim grew up staying with her mother and stepfather. She moved out and stayed with her father and his wife when she turned 13, visiting her mother on weekends. 

This move came about after the victim’s mother and the rapist were approached by their pastor and were requested to make peace. At this reconciliation discussion, the accused apologised to the victim’s mother for raping her. 

The accused’s wife invited the victim to stay with her, and her husband and the victim’s mother agreed to the arrangement as she thought the rapist had repented.

She got pregnant and returned home to stay with her mother. She had a few emotional outbursts at home and informed her aunt and mother about what the accused did to her. 

A case was registered against the accused, and a doctor confirmed that she was pregnant.

The victim’s mother testified that they instructed the hospital to terminate the pregnancy.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said the State was ready to proceed with the trial on January 29, and the three charges were put to the accused. 

“In aggravation of sentence, Goulding argued that the accused pleaded guilty because he realised that the State had a very strong case against him and he had no other way out than to plead guilty. The accused is the victim’s biological father and was supposed to protect her, but he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” he said.

Ntabazalila said the State’s case was that the accused planned the offence as he would wait for his wife to go to work and take advantage of the minor victim. 

The court agreed with the State and sentenced the accused to 10 years direct imprisonment for sexual violation, life imprisonment for rape and 20 years direct imprisonment for incest. 

Action Society’s Juanita du Preez said this case is both horrifying and, tragically, not isolated, as they see far too many cases involving the prolonged sexual abuse of children where victims are silenced for years and perpetrators are protected.

“Life imprisonment for repeated rape and an additional sentence for incest sends an important message that crimes of this nature rank among the most serious offences in our law,” Du Preez said. 

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