A Hibberdene man who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his daughter has now been arrested for allegedly raping his seven-year-old granddaughter.
He was released from prison after serving only nine years of his sentence.
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The 48-year-old man was convicted of raping his daughter and indecently assaulting her best friend in Rustenburg in 2003.
Last Wednesday, Detective Sergeant Shaun Pillay from the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) made the arrest.
Police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Zandra Wiid confirmed this, saying the alleged rape had taken place in December last year while the man was visiting his daughter.
“He was charged and appeared in the Hibberdene Court last Friday. The case was postponed to this Friday, January 19, and he was denied bail.”
Speaking to the Herald this week, the man’s daughter – who now also lives on the South Coast – said she is furious with herself.
He came back into my life five years ago after he moved to Hibberdene. I forgave him and I gave him a second chance to be a dad to me and to be a granddad to my children.
She said her father had visited her on occasion after his release and that she had also visited him in Hibberdene.
“We would normally spend the whole weekend together, sleeping over. That’s when it happened,” she said.
“My father is a very clever man and he can manipulate people, like he did when I was a child. I was scared to tell anyone what he did to me and now he has done the same to my daughter.”
Sagree Naicker, manager of Child Welfare South Africa, Port Shepstone, feels bail in such cases is granted too easily.
“The emotional turmoil in itself after abuse is devastating and has far reaching consequences, causing a lifetime of emotional scarring for any person, be it an adult or a child. We have had several cases where someone has been released and has then gone on to re-offend, which I would say is due to proper measures not being implemented by the courts.
“I would suggest a review of policies and procedures, as well as a joint partnership with those who are treating victims of abuse in order to have stricter sentencing for offenders,” said Ms Naicker.
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At least 669 children were raped in South Africa between 2002 and March in 2004 by men who had previous rape convictions, according to Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula.
According to Childline South Africa’s Joan van Niekerk, despite government assurances that those convicted of serious crimes would not get remission of sentence, hundreds of sexual offenders, including those convicted of rape, were still being released from prison.
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