Pretoria- The Bronkhorstspruit Magistrate’s Court on Friday sentenced a 57-year-old man to four life terms and 21-years imprisonment for the rape of his two stepdaughters aged 13 and 15 years old.
The man, from Mozambique, was charged with rape, causing grievous bodily harm, and being in the country illegally.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, the man lived with the mother and the teenagers at Kameeldrift at Pretoria East and was the sole provider for the family.
“From 2004 until 2019 when he bought clothes for the children, he requested sexual activities as a form of payment. He would take them one by one to collect wood or feed chickens then rape them.
“This was discovered during a family function in December 2019, when the 13-year-old asked other kids who were at the function if they too pay with sexual favours when their fathers buy them things. The adults who were at the function including the mother overheard the conversation,” Mahanjana said.
The man was then arrested in January 2020 and has been in custody since, after the NPA successfully opposed bail.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor Akanyang Ben Smith told the court that the children were stripped of their dignity.
“A man who was supposed to protect them and be their father brutally invaded their privacy and integrity at a tender age.The children were psychologically impacted by the incidents; therefore, he asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment,” Mahanjana added.
IOL