Pretoria - The Mhala Regional Court in Mpumalanga, has sentenced a 41-year-old man from Huntington, near Mkhuhlu, to two life imprisonment terms for raping his stepdaughter on two separate occasions.

The name of the rapist is withheld to protect the teenage victim.

Mpumalanga spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Monica Nyuswa said the teenage girl was living with her mother and the 41-year-old man.

“The accused was convicted on two counts of rape and was sentenced to life imprisonment on each count. The victim was 13 years of age when the first incident happened and was residing in the same house with the accused and her mother as a family at Newington Trust,” said Nyuswa.

“On 12 January 2020 and 9 February 2022, the victim’s mother was away on both dates, and the accused forcefully raped the victim.

“The victim reported the incident to her mother and her aunt, and this led to the arrest of the accused,” said Nyuswa.

In court, the man denied the allegations levelled against him.

“State prosecutor Matome Maake led evidence of a first report, the victim, and the victim’s mother. Their evidence was supported by the J88 medical report, which showed that the victim sustained injuries due to forced penetration during the rape ordeal, including the testimony of a forensic nurse,” said Nyuswa.

Maake also emphasised to the court that the scourge of gender-based violence was bedevilling South Africa and urged the court to impose a befitting sentence.

“The accused was found guilty on both counts and was sentenced accordingly. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, the effective sentence being life imprisonment,” said Nyuswa.

“The court ordered the accused’s name to be entered in the National Register for Sexual Offenders. He was declared unfit to possess a firearm and was further declared unfit to work with children.”

The National Prosecuting Authority in Mpumalanga has welcomed the conviction and sentence, hoping that “it sends a strong message that violence against women and children is seen in a very serious light by our courts”.

In July, the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court sentenced a 36-year-old stepfather (identified only as Mr X to protect the abused child) from Hercules in Pretoria West to one life term in jail for raping his nine-year-old stepdaughter.

At the time, National Prosecution Authority (NPA) Gauteng regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the lengthy sentence came after Magistrate Johanna Mthimunye convicted him of rape on 13 April.

“On Sunday, 5 January 2019, the minor and her mother had gone to church. During the service, a pastor of the church prophesied that the child had been sexually assaulted by a 33-year-old male when she was nine years old,” Mahanjana said.

“After church, on their way home, the child confessed to the mother that indeed the stepfather had been sexually assaulting her over a period of a year when the mother had gone to work at night, and she was left in his care.”

The mother confronted Mr X about the allegations made by the child, but he denied it.

The following morning, both the mother and Mr X took the child to a doctor at Laudium Hospital, where the child was examined, and it was discovered that the child had been sexually assaulted.

“After the child spoke to the social workers, police were called, and Mr X was arrested at the hospital. He has been in custody since the NPA successfully opposed bail,” Mahanjana said.

In court, Mr X pleaded not guilty to the charge against him.

Prosecutor Tumi Pongola told the court that rape is a scourge that is prevalent in South African society and is degrading and humiliating, especially for vulnerable children.

She asked the court to take into consideration the seriousness of the offence and the interest of society when imposing a sentence “because Mr X took advantage of a nine-year-old girl and threatened her life if she reported the rape”.

In delivering her sentence, Magistrate Mthimunye agreed with the State that Mr X took advantage of a child who regarded him as a father and that “he deserves no other sentence but that of life imprisonment”.

IOL