THE Camperdown Regional Court sentenced the perpetrator to 15 years imprisonment for raping and impregnating his biological daughter. The accused’s name was registered in the National Register for Sexual Offences, and he was deemed unfit to possess a firearm. He pleaded guilty to the rape and to impregnating his daughter. Forensic DNA evidence was also presented in court confirming that the accused was the biological father of a child born out of raping his daughter.

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According to the Department of Social Development in KwaZulu-Natal, the accused had stayed with his children, including the victim, in the Hammarsdale area, after their mother had left.
“In a statement presented to the court by the accused’s defence, it was detailed how he raped his daughter. According to the statement, he had been consuming alcohol and later went into a bedroom where his daughter was ironing his clothes. He pushed her onto the bed and raped her while threatening to injure her if she made any noise. After he had finished raping his daughter, the accused instructed her to take a bath. In February 2019, he noticed that his daughter was gaining weight, and he asked a relative to take her to a clinic, which confirmed the pregnancy,” reported the Department.

The Department’s MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza cited that giving harsher sentences to perpetrators of gender-based violence would go a long way to restore confidence in justice.
“It is shocking that we have fathers who have lost moral standing and they find solace in dehumanising other human beings. We are happy that law enforcement agencies have done a wonderful job in this case to avoid any miscarriages of justice,” she said.

Khoza applauded the team of social workers who joined the family and held a picket outside the court in support of the victim.