Durban: A 28-year-old man who raped his neighbour and was only reported to police years later has been jailed for life.
The offender was sentenced and convicted in the Verulam Regional Court this week.
The NPA said the rapes took place in March 2013 when the accused was 20 -years- old and the victim was four.
“The man lived in the same block of flats in Phoenix as the boy and his mother.
“At some stage, the boy’s mother got ill and had to stay in hospital. The boy went to live with the nanny, who also lived in the same block of flats,” said Natasha Kara, NPA spokesperson.
“The accused would regularly fetch the boy from the nanny’s flat, under the pretence of playing video games, but would rape him instead.
“This occurred on several occasions. However, on the last occasion, the child reported the incident to the nanny. She confronted the man, who denied it, but she then told the man’s mother about it.
“Nobody told the boy’s mother about the rape when she returned from hospital and after some time.”
The NPA said the victim and his mother moved to Johannesburg.
“In 2019, the mother caught the boy watching pornography, and he was only 10 years old. She asked him where he had learnt about this kind of material, and it was at this point that he told her that he was exposed to porn when his neighbour raped him. She took him to a psychiatrist for help, and they then opened a case against the man.”
Kara said the man handed himself over to the police in April 2019, but he denied any wrongdoing.
“In the absence of medical evidence, Regional Court Prosecutor Ishara Sewnarayan led the testimony of the boy as well as his mother and the nanny.
In a victim impact statement, the boy, who is now 13-year-old, said he is still dealing with the effects of the rape.
He told the court that he was being treated for depression and had lost trust in all men, and could not have a normal relationship with his father.
The accused’s name will be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders.
IOL