The incident happened at Deeside Letsitele farm on February 28 2015 where the accused resided with the family of the victim.
The grandmother confronted the child who then disclosed to her and the police were called to the scene and the accused was arrested.
The accused tendered a plea of consent and the court found during the trial, that the accused had a relationship with a child victim, gave the child money and he bought her cell phone until the grandmother became aware and reprimanded him.
Regional Court Prosecutor, Paul Rikhotso led the evidence of the minor child who testified that she had a relationship with the accused and she consented to the sexual intercourse.
The grandmother was also called to testify.
The DNA results positively linked the accused to the rape.
In mitigation of sentence Rikhotso submitted that the conduct amounted to grooming the victim and she was a child who could not give consent to sexual intercourse.
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment and ordered that the accused’s name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders.
The accused was also deemed unfit to work with children and unsuitable to possess a firearm.
The NPA welcomed the sentenced and the Director of Public Prosecutions in Limpopo Advocate Ivy Thenga, said that she was pleased with the sentence
“Justice has indeed been done, its unfortunate that a child’s innocence was robbed,” added Thenga.
