A Free State father has been sentenced for the rape of his biological seven-year-old daughter in the Brandfort Regional Court.
The 27-year-old man cannot be named to protect his minor daughter from secondary trauma.
The man was convicted on a charge of rape and a count of incest.
The court heard the incident took place between May 25 and June 9, 2023, in Majwemasweu near the town of Winnie Mandela about 60 km northeast of Bloemfontein when the grandmother of the girl had to be admitted to hospital.
The girl was left at her grandfather’s house, a temporary measure until the grandmother was discharged. During this time, the girl’s father visited the family where his child had been staying for the interim and requested they allow his daughter to visit him at his parental home.
Later that night, the girl asked her father to prepare the bed for her and she was tired and wanted to sleep as they shared a bed.
During the night, she wanted to go to the toilet. As they returned from the toilet, the court heard the father told his daughter he wanted to show her what he used to do with her mother when she was still alive. He began raping the girl and when she tried to screamed covered her mouth with his hand.
He only stopped when a family member entered the bedroom.
The following day, the court heard the father took his daughter back to the home where she was requested to stay until her grandmother’s return.
After her release, the grandmother noticed the girl had difficulty walking and spoke to her, but she was afraid to say anything as her father had threatened her.
After some persuasion, the girl told her grandmother what transpired and the matter was reported to the police. The rapist father was arrested and charged.
During the victim impact statement, the court heard how the brutal rape had changed and affected the child. She is no longer the child she use to be.
The father, who pleaded not guilty to the charges against him claimed he was never with the girl during the night as his mother was the one who slept beside her. He remained adamant he was innocent and claimed the girl’s grandmother had influenced her to falsely implicate him as she hated him. He could give the court no reasons as to why the grandmother would hate him.
The grandmother testified there was not bad blood between them.
During its sentencing arguments, the defence asked for 15 years imprisonment stating the father was young and could be rehabilitated. However, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the rape and one-year imprisonment for incest. The court ordered his name be listed on the Sexual Offences Register and further declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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