The Nelspruit Sexual Offences Court on Wednesday sentenced a man from Matsulu outside Malalane to life imprisonment for raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter.

According to Lowvelder, the 34-year-old rapist’s name has been withheld to protect the victim’s identity.

The girl is originally from the Kingdom of eSwatini where she lived with her father, but she moved to South Africa to live with her biological mother as she was abused, allegedly by her stepmother.

“After the victim arrived in South Africa, the accused informed her that she was brought to the country to perform sexual intercourse with him. Between February 2018 and September 2019, the accused would wait for his wife to go to work and rape the victim while they were alone in the house,” says NPA regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa.

“As a result, the victim developed a hatred towards her mother and subsequently started sleeping at her friend’s place. When the accused noticed the victim was no longer sleeping in the house, he started complaining to his wife that she was sleeping around with boys,” adds Nyuswa.

She says the rape came to light when the victim sent her mother a message expressing her frustrations that she was brought to the country to be a sex slave for her stepdad. The mother was shocked about the news and reported the matter to her pastor, who removed the girl from the convict’s house. The matter was then reported to the police, leading to the stepfather’s arrest.

In court, the accused denied the allegations levelled against him. He testified that the victim was a liar and that she started dating at the age of 12. He also lied to the court claiming that he was a protective father to his stepdaughter. However, the state prosecutor, Thembi Mabuza, led evidence from the victim’s mother, the victim herself and the doctor who examined her. A J88 medical report indicated the victim had both internal and external injuries, and was also submitted as part of the evidence. The court rejected the accused’s version after finding the state witnesses’ evidence reliable.

Mabuza told the court the accused was in a position of trust as a stepfather, and was supposed to protect the victim and not violate her. She applied for the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment to be imposed under the circumstances. “In addition, Mabuza submitted a victim impact statement facilitated by the court preparation officer, Zodwa Lekhuleni, compiled for the victim, narrating how the rape ordeal has negatively impacted her life,” explains Nyuswa.

Magistrate Reginald Cloete sentenced the rapist to life imprisonment after finding no substantial or compelling reasons to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.

The court ordered his name to be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

“This sentence underscores the seriousness with which the criminal justice system addresses sexual violence as it not only violates the dignity and privacy of victims, which is protected by the Constitution, but also erodes societal trust. The NPA continues aggressively prosecuting these cases to ensure justice for all victims,” concludes Nyuswa.

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