UPDATE: ‘Springs monster’ gets 35 years

The man dubbed the “Springs monster” for his severed abuse of his five children and his wife, which included the rape of his eldest daughter, has been sentenced to a total of 35 years in jail.

He was found guilty of defeating the ends of justice, child abuse, child neglect and possession of drugs.

His ex-wife, who has been accused of not doing enough to stop the abuse, but was also herself battered, was given a suspended sentence of five years based on certain conditions.

The man was convicted of raping his 16-year-old daughter and of the attempted murder of his 11-year-old son. His name is being withheld to protect the identities of his children.

The man’s wife was also convicted of child neglect.

In May 2014, police removed the two children and their three younger siblings from the couple’s house in Springs on the East Rand after the 11-year-old asked one of the neighbours for help.

It was reported on Tuesday that the children of the “Springs monster” have filed affidavits expressing their hatred towards their father.

READ MORE: Children of ‘Springs monster’ would ‘kill’ their father, blame mother for not helping

The Springs father who tortured and tried to kill his son, raped his daughter and severely abused all of his five children is a psychopath and sadist who poses a high risk to society, a psychologist told the High Court in Pretoria on Monday.

The boy’s affidavit expresses extremely strong views regarding a father so abusive that his son feels total hatred towards him.

“I hate him so much, I would kill him if I could,” the 15-year-old boy says in the affidavit.

“He never loved me. I wish I could get another surname because I want nothing to do with him. I don’t want to be his son,” he continued.

“I wish there are people in jail who can hurt him like he hurt me. I wish they could also burn him with a blowtorch and hit him and shock him so that he will know how he hurt me. I sometimes see the scars he gave me, and I hate him,” the boy said.

He also said that he was glad that he called the police on his father. “I know now that I did the right thing that night because I helped my sisters and brother. Sometimes, I think if I hadn’t done it, he would have killed me,” he said.

The boy also made it clear that he blames his mother for not doing enough to stop his father’s behaviour.

“She never even cried when he hurt me, she never tried to stop him,” the affidavit says. “I don’t love her. She did nothing to help me.”

This allegation, that the mother did not help, was repeated in the other affidavit, from the man’s eldest daughter, who is now 20.

“My mother was always there and did nothing to help,” she wrote.