A 40-year-old man was on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment by the Eshowe Regional Court in KZN for the rape and assault of a girl (8) in September 2021.

Zululand Observer reports the accused, who lived in the same house as the victim, was also the herder for the family.

At the time of the incident, he returned home in a drunken state and proceeded to assault the little girl with his hands and a broomstick, causing injury to her eyes.

Out of touch with reality, he strangled her and raped her in the presence of her younger sibling.

In court, the prosecutor submitted compelling testimony from her sibling, the evidence presented by the medical doctor, and the victim impact statement (VIS) compiled by the court preparation officer bolstered the state’s cases against the accused.

According to the VIS, the life-changing incident caused the victim to feel robbed of her childhood, and she faces bullying and is referred to as ‘the girl who was raped’.

Exercising the long arm of the law, the court handed down a life sentence to the man and declared him unfit to possess a firearm, that his name be added to the National Register for Sex Offenders, and that he is not allowed to work with children.