A 49-year-old stepfather has been sentenced to life in prison for raping his stepdaughter for years. This is after his conviction on 12 May 2022.
Willow, Pretoria East, the stepfather was sentenced to life imprisonment for one offense of rape, 10 years for three counts of rape, 4 years for sexual assault, 3 years for assault with grievous bodily injury and the use of a firearm Was sentenced to 3 years for pointing.
National Prosecution Authority regional spokeswoman Lumka Mahajana said the magistrate ordered continuation of the sentence.
Lumka claims that the stepfather and mother of the complainant were married and lived together with the complainant.
“When the child was 3 years old, the stepfather started assaulting him. However, when she was 7 years old, he started sexually and physically assaulting her until 2019, when she was 17 years old,” she explained.
“These incidents happened while his mother was at work or out,” Lumka said.
In 2018, the complainant told her stepfather that she wanted to commit suicide due to her inability to cope with her experiences. Instead, he pointed a pistol at her and threatened to kill both her and her mother.
On January 15, 2019, when her stepfather assaulted her again, she told her boyfriend and together they reported the incident to the social worker of the school, who informed the police.
“The stepfather was arrested on the same day, but was sent to custody only after he was convicted,” Lumka said.
She said that after her arrest, the girl went to live with her grandparents and got counseling.
“In court, the stepfather pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. However, when the girl testified in the court, she told the court that the events affected her and she is now a broken person who is dead inside,” Lumka elaborated.
She continued, “In the gravity of the sentence, the state prosecutor told the court that the accused abused a child he was supposed to protect. He showed no remorse for his actions, so the sentence of life imprisonment was appropriate.” , and asked the court not to deviate from the minimum punishment prescribed.
Lumka concluded by saying that the NPA welcomed the punishment and hoped that it would send a message to all perpetrators of child abuse.