Johannesburg - A 42-year-old father of two has been sentenced to four life terms and 73 years direct imprisonment for sexual crimes committed against five minor children aged 9,10,11,12, and 13 years old, including his two children, between 2019 and November 2020.
The man from Meyerton, Vereeniging, was arrested on 17 November 2020 after he was caught raping his 12-year-old daughter. The Pretoria High Court handed down his sentence and further ordered that his name be added to the National Register for Sexual Offenders.
Judge Masopa convicted him of two counts of statutory rape, two counts of rape, two counts of sexual grooming, and two counts of instructing a child to commit sexual offences, incest, and possession of pornography as well as sexual assault.
According to Gauteng NPA Regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, at the time of the incidents, the man was in a relationship with the mothers of the two minor children, aged 10 and 11, when he sexually violated them.
The man also raped his two daughters, aged 11 and 12 years old, when they would visit him.
In addition to raping the 12-year-old, he would also take pictures of her private parts and ask her to send him similar pictures via WhatsApp when she was not with him.
Furthermore, the 13-year-old minor, whom he also sexually violated, later fell pregnant and had his child when she was 16 years old.
The man was stopped and reported to the police after he was caught raping his 12-year-old daughter in November 2020.
“In mitigation of his sentence, the father read a statement and asked the court to impose a sentence of 25 years because he was now a changed man and found God in prison,” said Mahanjana.
State prosecutor Advocate Salome Scheepers argued in court that crimes of gender-based violence are prevalent in the country. Therefore, she asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment.
Scheepers said: “The man was a father and a stepfather to his victims, and he was in a position of trust but betrayed that trust. He furthermore displayed no remorse, no regret, and therefore no hope of rehabilitation.”
“Judge Masopa agreed with the state that the man showed no remorse and therefore found no compelling and substantial circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence. The sentence given was appropriate,” said Mahanjana.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi, applauded the work of the prosecutor and the investigating officer, Captain Edgar Swart, that led to the conviction and sentencing in this gruesome case involving children.
Mzinyathi further expressed that he hopes that the sentence will send a strong message that such crimes will not be tolerated but will be prosecuted.
IOL