Madadeni Regional Court hands life sentence to child rapist
Mhlophe handed in a Victim Impact Statement compiled by the child's mother and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer, Masande Mdiya.
The Madadeni Regional Court has sentenced a 30-year-old man to life imprisonment for the rape of his girlfriend’s child in April 2022.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, NPA regional KZN spokesperson, said the child was just 10-years-old at the time and that he had raped her on two occasions while her mother was away from the house running errands.
He threatened to kill both her and her mother if she told anyone what had happened and used a knife to enhance his threats.
“The mother eventually noticed that the child was behaving out-of-sorts and was even wetting the bed. She asked the child if anyone was touching her private parts and after some coaxing, she revealed what her stepfather was doing.”
The mother immediately reported the incident to the police and her boyfriend was arrested. The child was taken to the Madadeni
Thuthuzela Care Centre where she received medical and psycho-social assistance. In court, Regional Court Prosecutor, Zwelisha Petros Mhlophe, led the evidence of the child and her mother.
In her statement, the mother said that the incident had completely changed the child’s behaviour. She also stated that she refused to interact with other children and was doing poorly at school. The mother added that her daughter was afraid of going out and preferred to stay at home.
The man was sentenced to life imprisonment and the court declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
The court further ordered that his name be added to the National Register for Sex Offenders. The court also found him unsuitable to work with children.
“The NPA welcomes this successful prosecution, and we commend the work done by both the prosecution and the investigation team. Rape is one of the most atrocious crimes that South Africa is plagued with and we hope that sentences of this nature will deter would-be offenders,” Ramkisson-Kara concluded.
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