A man in his thirties has been sentenced to 28 years’ imprisonment for raping his minor niece in the Emadwaleni area in May 2022.

The man was found guilty and sentenced at the Vryheid Regional Court last week.

Court hears details of repeated sexual assaults

The court heard that the victim, who is now 15, lived with her uncle, grandmother and two siblings, an older brother and a younger sister, at the time of the incidents.

The offender sexually assaulted the girl on two occasions. During the third incident, she managed to escape.

On the first occasion, the uncle waited for the younger child to fall asleep before assaulting the victim. He reportedly repeated the act on the second occasion.

During the third incident, the uncle allegedly took the girl into the bushes to look for wood and attempted to assault her again. However, she managed to escape and ran for about 13km to her mother’s rented home in the Shoba area.

Victim’s family helps bring case to light

The victim did not immediately tell her mother what had happened because she was afraid of her uncle. She later confided in her grandmother, who shared the information with the victim’s older brother.

The brother then took the initiative to open a rape case against their uncle.

Investigator persists after victim stops attending court

The accused was arrested but was later released after the victim stopped attending court proceedings.

Sergeant Dlomo, who investigated the case, said he did not give up on the matter. He continued trying to trace the victim, who had moved away from the area.

The case was eventually brought back to court, with Mr Sibiya serving as the state prosecutor. The victim was able to testify about the incidents, which had taken place several years earlier.

Victim speaks about trauma and forgiveness

She told the court that the incidents had left her traumatised. Despite what she had experienced, she said she had forgiven her uncle for what he had done to her when she was younger.

Court hands down 28-year prison sentence

The offender was sentenced to 28 years’ imprisonment and declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.