Durban man accused of raping stepdaughter ‘too sick’ for first appearance

The first day of trial for a Durban man charged with raping his stepdaughter multiple times over an 18-month period after her mother died, was rolled over in the Durban High Court after he was reportedly too sick to appear.

The matter was rolled over to Friday, when his lawyer would provide the court with a sick note detailing reasons for his absence.

The father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the 11-year-old, allegedly raped her from January 2017 until his arrest in 2018.

According to the indictment, there are 56 charges relating to various forms of child abuse.

Harrowing details

The indictment states the accused had been living with the child’s mother in Gauteng. When her mother died, the man left the family home with the girl, despite her mother’s family saying they would take her in.

The State alleged the abuse began in January 2017, and included allegations that he showed the child various forms of pornography and then forced her to perform these sexual acts on him.

After the girl was brought to Durban, a the man continued to sexually exploit her for a harrowing 18-month period.

He allegedly sexually groomed her, created and distributed child pornography of the sex acts that he forced her to perform, and used sex toys on her.

He has also been charged with several counts of human trafficking after he allegedly forced the girl to perform sex acts on others for cash.

One of the most graphic incidents highlighted in court papers were allegations that he took the young girl to a man in Durban and forced her to engage in a sexual act with him, the accused himself simultaneously raped her.

Court documents further state that he kept her confined in a shack in Verulam, outside Durban, and repeatedly sexually assaulted her. The windows in the home were blocked out with newspaper.

He was arrested when the child managed to escape from the room in June 2018 to alert the neighbouring community about the abuse.

He remains in custody at the Westville Prison after being denied bail.

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