Pretoria - A judge was stunned when a former teacher and father of four who received a life sentence for raping a 6-year-old said he could not remember the names of two of his children or their mothers.
“I was not impressed by the evidence of the accused in his mitigation. I cannot imagine a parent who does not know the names of his children nor their mothers. A child is the biggest moment in a person’s life,” Acting Judge M Notyesi said.
She sentenced Louis Pepping, 58, in the Eastern Cape High Court, Mthatha.
He was an assistant teacher at a school in that province and also worked as an adviser for the Eastern Cape Department of Education.
Testifying in mitigation of sentence, Pepping told the court that he had four children, one with his estranged wife. He could not remember the mothers of two of his children, nor could he remember the names of those two children.
He testified that none of the children were his dependants.
Pepping used to support the youngest child, who is now 14, but he did not know his name. He stopped supporting this child after he was dismissed by the department.
The judge commented that it was easy for the court to infer that, as an adviser in the department, he had contributed to the development and transformation of the educational system.
“He was useful to the society and enjoyed a position of trust until the offence was committed,” Judge Notyesi said.
In asking for the court’s mercy, Pepping complained that he was on chronic medication as he “had some psychological sickness”. He, however, did not submit a report to the court about this condition.
The judge said he was not convinced by the evidence the accused gave in his mitigation. She said a father would never forget his children’s names, thus the court did not accept the evidence about the children.
Pepping’s testimony about his medical condition was also rejected because there were no medical records.
While the circumstances under which the 6-year-old was raped were not set out in the judgment, the judge did refer to the fact that the accused promised the child food and money when he raped her.
In this regard, the judge remarked: “This is the hallmark of arrogance and a show of power over an innocent and defenceless child.
“Rape is a serious offence for reasons that it offends against the victim’s rights to personal freedoms, dignity, privacy and humanity. It is a disgusting, horrible and despicable crime as it does not only undermine the person of the victim, but does take away their dignity and self-esteem as well.”
The judge said rape was a particularly heinous crime when it was committed against defenceless and innocent young children and women.
He said it evoked strong feelings of revulsion and outrage among all right-thinking and self-respecting members of society.
The accused preyed upon an innocent and vulnerable 6-year-old and gave no explanation for his conduct.
The child suffered such severe injuries that she had to remain in hospital for several days.
“I have no doubt in my mind that this must have been an excruciating pain that the complainant endured,” the judge said.
According to the social worker’s report, the child and her family now lived in fear.
“This court is unable to speculate how long the trauma will last,” the judge said in finding that the accused deserved nothing less than a life sentence.
Pretoria News