In the Empangeni Regional Court, a 45-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of raping his daughter and sexually assaulting his niece in KwaZulu-Natal.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the man was also found guilty of sexual assault and handed him an additional eight-year prison sentence.
The sentences will run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of life imprisonment.
The children were aged 10 and five years old when the offences occurred between 2020 and 2022.
According to the NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the man raped his biological daughter on three occasions in his bedroom.
He also sexually assaulted his niece in 2022.
How the abuse came to light
The NPA said the matters came to light when the children’s cousin became suspicious and followed one of the girls to her father’s bedroom.
“The cousin knocked on the door and told the child that her granny was calling her. When the door was opened, the cousin observed that the child’s clothes were crumpled. She reported the matter to her mother. The child then disclosed that her father had raped her,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
The NPA said the family subsequently learned about the sexual assault of the niece. The matter was reported to the police, and the children were taken to the Ngwelezane Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) for medical and psychosocial assistance.
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‘Immoral and unacceptable’
During the trial, Prosecutor Edwina du Plessis led the evidence of six witnesses, including the children, the witnesses who received the first reports, and the medical doctor who examined the children. In aggravation of sentence, the State handed in Victim Impact Statements compiled by the children and facilitated by court preparation officer Seneliso Sibanda.
“In her statement, the first child said that she could not understand why her father would want to rape her. She said that what he did was immoral and unacceptable in society,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
The niece stated that she had expected her uncle to protect and care for her.
Ramkisson-Kara said the man was declared unfit to possess a firearm and unsuitable to work with children. The court also ordered that his name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders.
The NPA remains steadfast in its commitment to combating sexual offences and gender-based violence and ensuring justice for survivors, Ramkisson-Kara said.
This commitment was reinforced by the continued expansion of the Thuthuzela Care Centre network, which grew from 55 centres in 2020/2021 to 66 centres across the country.
“These centres provide integrated medical, legal and psychosocial services to survivors of sexual violence and continue to play a critical role in supporting victims while contributing to the successful prosecution of offenders,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
