The NPA has welcomed the sentence of life imprisonment handed down by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court to a Mamelodi man for raping his girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter.

According to Pretoria Rekord, NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, was further sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment for sexual assault.

Mahanjana said the court ordered that the life sentence run concurrently with the five-year direct imprisonment sentence.

She said Mr X sexually assaulted his girlfriend’s daughter from 2022 to 2023 at their house in Mamelodi.

This was discovered on May 15, 2023, when the victim’s mother fetched the child from her friend’s home to take her to school after spending the weekend with the friend.

Victim told her parents

On arrival, the mother asked why the child did not return home as agreed. The victim informed her mother that her boyfriend had been continuously raping her.

On the same day, after school, the child went to her father’s home and told her father that her mother’s boyfriend had been raping her.

Mahanjana said the father reported the matter to the police, and after investigations, the man was arrested.

The victim was taken to Mamelodi Thuthuzela Care Centre, where she received medical, psychological, and legal assistance from the police and prosecutors.

Accused pleads not guilty

In court, Mr X pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him and denied committing the offences.

However, the state presented compelling evidence, including the testimony of the victim and her father, which proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

During sentencing, Mr X, through his legal representatives, asked the court to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentences, citing that he is unemployed and also a first-time offender.

However, state prosecutor Vleis van Zyl argued that Mr X was convicted of a very serious offence that is prevalent across the country.

Furthermore, he said that instead of protecting and looking after the victim, he abused his position of trust and abused her.

Sentencing

Van Zyl read into the record a victim impact statement where the girl expressed how the incident had negatively affected her emotionally and psychologically.

In delivering the sentence, the magistrate agreed with the state that Mr X abused his position of trust as a guardian of the victim.

Therefore, the magistrate found no substantial or compelling circumstances to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

The NPA calls on all South Africans to unite against gender-based violence and create safe environments where the constitutional rights of children, particularly their right to dignity and safety, are fully protected.

Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel.

Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.