The Butterworth Regional Court has sentenced a 66-year-old man to 18 years imprisonment for raping his stepdaughter.
Between January 2012 and October 2015, the man, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of the victim, stayed with the victim in Butterworth, Eastern Cape.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the man would give the unsuspecting girl, who was 10-years-old at the time, cooldrink mixed with brandy to drink.
“When she fell asleep, he would rape her and the child would wake up noticing that her private parts were wet. The man did this over a period of three years, and in some instances, he did not drug her but threatened to stop buying her clothes if she refused to have sex with him.
“When the victim resisted her stepfather’s advances, he would chase her away from their home, forcing her to sleep in a nearby church building and next to the river during other days,” said NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali.
The rapes were only reported when the victim, who was 13-years-old, confided in one of her teachers at school about her ordeal at home.
The teacher reported the matter to social workers and the child was put in a place of safety, and the man was arrested.
During trial, he pleaded not guilty but was convicted after prosecutor, Jongikhaya Dudumashe, led the evidence of the girl, her teacher and the social workers who assisted the girl.
While the State argued for a minimum sentence of life imprisonment, the court deviated from this, taking into account the rapist’s age and his suffering from chronic high blood pressure. – SAnews.gov.za
