The Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court recently sentenced a Hammanskraal family, that was arrested in 2010 for child pornography, to 16 life sentences and 110 years’ imprisonment.

The family were collectively convicted of 20 counts of sexual offences against three minor children (aged between four and nine), from 2005 until 2010.

Some of the charges they were convicted of include rape, indecent assault, compelled rape, compelled sexual assault, witness sexual acts, sexual grooming as well as child abuse and neglect.

The foster parents (aged 70 and 69 respectively) were sentenced to 12 life terms and 95 years’ imprisonment. Two relatives, who were a couple (aged 43 and 49), were sentenced to four life terms and 15 years’ imprisonment.

Another couple (aged 49 and 39) will serve a five-year suspended sentence and three years of correctional supervision.

The magistrate ordered that the sentences should run concurrently and that their names be added to the national register for sexual offenders.

They were also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The abuse was discovered after the six-year-old foster child was taken for a school readiness assessment, according to National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.

The child disclosed to the educational psychologist that she was being sexually assaulted by her foster parents, and the psychologist reported the matter to the police.

“During the investigation it was found that the six accused were sexually assaulting both their two foster children and their four biological children.”

The six were arrested in December 2010 at their residences in Hammanskraal and Bultfontein. The children were then taken to a place of safety.

In court they all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and denied ever sexually assaulting the children.

“The state was able to provide evidence to prove that the six did indeed sexually assault the children. In their victim impact statement, the children told the court what happened to them has affected and continues to affect them as they now find it hard to trust people and maintain relations.

“They further told the court that they still suffer from the trauma caused by the six,” reported Mahanjana.

In aggravation of sentence, prosecutors Cornelia Harmzen and Marie Jonker told the court that the six showed no remorse for their actions.

“They subjected their children to the scrutiny of the court where they had to testify using the intermediary services and also relive their trauma.

“Moreover, the accused were parents to the children. They were in a position of trust, and they betrayed that trust and failed to protect the children.”

In his sentence, magistrate Pieter Nel said the six committed serious offences against their children over a long period.

“Such crimes will surely leave a long impact on the victims and, therefore, the sentence given was appropriate,” he said.