Man appears in Bethal Court for rape of his daughter
The 42-year-old man was remanded in custody and faces charges of rape on his 13-year-old biological daughter.
A 42-year-old man was remanded in custody after appearing in the Bethal Magistrate’s Court on January 9 on charges of raping his daughter.
He is due back in court on January 25 for a formal bail application.
His arrest came after the investigating team, comprising sergeants Mzwandile Nkambule and Bheki Maphanga and Constable Esther Malaza from the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit in Secunda, received a rape case reported and registered with the Bethal SAPS for investigation.
According to Sergeant Thomas Mogadime, the media spokesperson for the Bethal SAPS, the suspect is the biological father of the 13-year-old victim.
“The victim began living with her father and brother in January 2023. During September, the victim was asleep in her room at night when the father entered her room and covered her face with his hand.
“She managed to turn around to uncover her face and saw her father naked. He then pulled up her night-dress, took off her panty and raped her. He covered her mouth to prevent her from making noise or crying for help.
“Afterwards, he went to his own room and played music on his sound system,” said Mogadime.
According to Mogadime, the victim went to the bathroom and locked herself in until the morning. She never told her brother about what her father had done.
She prepared for school, and the suspect took her to school and dropped her at its gate without uttering a word.
“Meanwhile, at school, the victim wanted to tell her teacher about the incident, but the teacher did not pay any attention or show interest in what the victim wanted to tell him.
“That afternoon, she realised her father did not give her transport money, so she decided to walk home.
“When she arrived home, her father began shouting at her and asked why she walked home. He assaulted and threatened to kill her and the brother,” said Mogadime.
On January 4, the girl’s father and stepmother came home with a pregnancy test kit. The girl was tested and found to be pregnant. The father threatened to kill the victim should she tell anyone about the pregnancy.
“Later the day, after she was tested for pregnancy, the stepmother approached the victim to ask her about the pregnancy. That is when the victim told her everything.
“After what she heard from the victim, the stepmother decided to go to KwaZulu-Natal to personally inform the biological mother of the victim about the condition of the child,” said Mogadime.
He further said the father offered his daughter money to keep quiet and not tell anyone. She refused to take it.
“Her stepmother returned from KwaZulu-Natal with the biological mother and grandmothers of the victim to address the matter and then reported it to the police,” concluded Mogadime.
