Man gets 18 years in prison for raping girlfriend’s daughter twice

As the country marked 16 days of activism against gender-based violence against women and children, a Port Elizabeth man was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for raping his girlfriend’s minor daughter twice in two years.

Port Elizabeth police spokesperson Colonel Priscila Naidu said the 32-year-old had raped the girl in February 2018 and in March 2020.

After he was arrested for the first offence he committed when the victim was 11-year-old, he appeared in court and was released on R500 bail. However, the court case was struck off the roll in January 2019 after both mother and daughter failed to attend the court hearings.

The mother was sleeping in the same house when the daughter was raped, said Naidu.

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Naidu said, in March 2020, the accused committed the same offence against the child who was now 13 years old.

“The Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit in Port Elizabeth arrested the suspect and he remained in custody until the finalisation of both cases,” said Naidu.

On Thursday, the Port Elizabeth Regional Court sentenced the man to 15 years in prison for rape, three years for sexual assault, two years for exposing or displaying pornography to a child, and 15 years for a second count of rape.

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“Both rape cases will run concurrently with each other and the other charges of sexual assault and exposing or displaying pornography to a child will run concurrent. Effectively he will serve 18 years in prison,” said Naidu.

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