DNA evidence proved crucial in the conviction of a 28-year-old man who raped his girlfriend’s 5-year-old child.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the KwaDukuza regional court on Monday.
The man, whose identity is not disclosed to protect his victim, had gone to visit his girlfriend at her house in Shakasville in 2018 when he discovered that she was not there and that she had left her 3 sleeping children at home.
He sexually molested the eldest, a 5-year-old girl, while her younger siblings slept on a mattress next to the bed.
Directorate of KZN Public Prosecutions spokesperson, Natasha Kara said that in his plea, the 28-year-old said he became sexually aroused and undressed himself and the girl.
“He then sexually molested the child. Thereafter he fell asleep. When he awoke his girlfriend had still not returned so he got dressed and left the house. When the woman returned, the child reported the incident to her.
“The child was unsure who the perpetrator was, as it was dark. She, however, suspected that it was him. She was taken to the police station where a case against the accused was opened. DNA samples were taken from both him and the child,” said Kara.
The man, who had initially denied the allegations, had no other recourse but to plead guilty when the DNA results linked him to the rape.
“In the (victim impact statement), the woman said that the accused had betrayed their trust, as her children considered him to be a father figure. Further, she said her community held her responsible for the incident,” said Kara.
The court ordered that the accused’s name be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders, he be declared unfit to work with children in the future and declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, advocate Elaine Zungu, said the case highlighted the importance of DNA evidence.
“The complainant was only 5 years old and the difficulty was also the issue of lighting and proper identification of the accused. To prove this, the state relied on the DNA results which resulted in the successful prosecution.”
She said it was critical that rape cases be reported immediately to Saps to allow for the medical evidence to be gathered timeously.
“Members of the community need to be educated on early reporting, to allow for medical evidence to be gathered.
“There is a real need for dialogues on gender-based matters in our communities,” said Zungu.
