Man’s appeal to overturn life sentence for raping his 7-year-old step-granddaughter denied

A 65-year-old man currently serving life in prison for raping his then seven-year-old step-granddaughter has lost his appeal.

The grandfather challenged his conviction and sentence after he was found guilty of raping the young girl on her birthday in 2016.

Man rapes minor step granddaughter

The child testified during the trial that on 8 March 2016, the convicted rapist took her to Mitchell’s Plain in Cape Town by train where he bought her a birthday cake.

The man, who was 57 years when the crime was committed, then proceeded to rape the child at nearby bushes.

At the time, the victim lived with her grandmother, who hadn’t given the convicted rapist permission to leave with the minor.

While the young girl did not tell her grandmother about the incident as she feared a beating, news about the rape circulated, but it implicated the child’s father.

The victim, however, denied this and said it was her step grandfather.

The grandmother took her to a social worker and subsequently to the clinic for an examination on 18 April 2016.

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A medical report by a doctor who died before the trial started in 2023, revealed the details of the victim’s injuries and stated that the step grandfather “raped her many times”.

The grandmother also died in December 2020 before she could also testify.

However, evidence led by the state before the Mitchell’s Plain Regional Court revealed that the grandmother said the victim was last seen at about 10:00am on her birthday and returned at about 05:00pm.

The grandmother’s statement confirmed the minor’s testimony in that she admitted to punishing the child for accompanying the accused to Mitchell’s Plain.

She did not want the girl to be alone with him due to his inappropriate interest in women.

Grandfather testifies

The grandfather then testified that he was married to the minor’s grandmother under Islamic law.

He denied raping the victim.

He then proceeded to give contradictory statements during his testimony and cross-examination about what happened on the fateful day, with the regional court’s magistrate warning him that his story did not make sense.

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His legal representative also argued that the man suffered from high blood pressure, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

The lawyer also said he was a first offender and has spent 14 months he spent in custody,  therefore, asking for a lesser sentence.

While the state argued that the grandfather did not show any remorse during trial, it was also noted that he was placed in custody as he did not comply with his bail conditions.

Magistrate sentencing

The regional court concluded that the man’s advanced age and seemingly poor health did not detract from the abhorrence of the crime.

The magistrate found that the victim’s story was not something that she could readily make up and the testimony that her grandmother beat her for not reporting the incident was corroborated in the deceased’s statement.

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The convicted rapist was subsequently sentenced in March 2024.

The regional court, however, considered the man’s period of incarceration antedated his life sentence to 23 December 2022.

Appeal

In his appeal to the Western Cape High Court, the convicted rapist questioned the reliability of the testimony of the victim as she was a single witness and that she was a minor.

He also questioned the reliance on the statement of the minor’s grandmother and highlighted the state’s failure to call the social worker who received the first report of the rape.

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The appellant further argued that the magistrate did not actively consider his personal circumstances and the court declined to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence in instances where he could.

His lawyer also argued that the imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment meant that their client would only be eligible for parole after 25 years, at the age of 90.

Moreover, even if he is considered for parole after 15 years, he will be 80 and given his health, this could equate to the grandfather never leaving prison.

Western Cape High Court judgment

In a recent judgment, Judge Rosheni Allie found that the state’s failure to lead evidence from a witness who received the minor’s first report of the sexual incident was “less significant” when it presented other evidence to corroborate the minor’s rape.

She concluded that the victim’s evidence was reliable.

“The appellant corroborated her version in every respect bar the excursion into the bushes and the rape. The grandmother’s statement and the medical evidence served as further corroboration,” the judge said.

Allie also found that there was no irregularity or misdirection in the sentence imposed by the regional court.

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She, however, criticised the delays in the case.

“Seven years had elapsed before the minor gave evidence even though the appellant was arrested about two months after the rape.

“The minor was expected to remember the minutiae of an incident which would find more mature brains wanting. This undue delay is completely unsatisfactory and is deprecated.”

Nonetheless, the court dismissed the appeal.