Pretoria - The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday sentenced a stepfather from Eersterust to life imprisonment for the rape of his 12-year-old stepdaughter.
NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said that the 38-year-old, together with the mother and the child, were staying together when he took advantage of the young girl.
He would rape the girl while the mother was at work.
“This was discovered after the child disclosed what was happening to her to her teacher at school. After the teacher told the mother what the child told her, the mother reported the matter to the police,” Mahanjana said.
After the stepfather learnt that the police were looking for him, he fled for a few months and later returned and handed himself over to the police on June 27, 2019.
However, he denied raping his stepdaughter.
During her testimony, the stepdaughter told the court that her stepfather threatened her life if she ever told anyone about the rape.
She added that her school performance deteriorated and she continued to have flashbacks of the incidents.
“In aggravation of sentence, the prosecutor, advocate Michael Shivuri, told the court that the stepfather was in a position of trust and he abused that trust. In court he showed no remorse for his actions and refused to take responsibility,” Mahanjana added.
Mahanjana said the prosecutor also argued that the stepfather committed a serious offence and asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment.
IOL