A 44-year-old man who continually raped his stepdaughter from 2013 to 2017 has been jailed for life.

The man, from Madadeni in Newcastle, KZN, recently appeared in the Madadeni Magistrate’s Court.

Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) regional spokesperson (KZN Division), says the man lived with the child and her mother and the child’s siblings.

He started raping her in 2013 when she was just eight years old.

“He raped her on several occasions whenever her mother was not around. The incidents finally came to light in 2017 when the child urinated on herself (due to urinary incontinence) at school,” says Ramkisson-Kara.

Her teacher asked her what was going on and she revealed that her stepfather was raping her, she adds.

The child’s mother was called in and the child was taken to the Madadeni Thuthuzela Care Centre for examination and medical and psycho-social assistance.

A case was opened and the man was arrested.

In court, the regional court prosecutor, Zwelisha Petros Mhlophe, led the girl’s evidence via the services of an intermediary.

During her testimony, the child said that following the rapes, she had suffered from illness and was unable to sleep at night as the ordeal had destroyed her emotionally.

The man was sentenced to life imprisonment and declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The court ordered that his name be added to the National Register for Sex Offenders, and further found him unsuitable to work with children.

“The NPA welcomes this successful prosecution, and we commend the work done by both the prosecution and the investigation team,” says Ramkisson-Kara.