Westenburg man jailed for life for rape of stepdaughter
According to testimony, the victim's mother accused her daughter of “wanting to steal” her husband and was not cooperative with the investigation.
POLOKWANE – The Mankweng Regional Court has sentenced the man accused of raping his 13-year-old stepdaughter in 2016 to life imprisonment.
According to Limpopo National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, the victim at the time returned from a get-together at a family friend, with the mother and perpetrator staying behind at the venue.
The accused, whose name is withheld to protect the victim, apparently followed her home where he raped her. When the mother later arrived home, she found the man half-naked in the passage.
According to testimony, the mother then accused her daughter of “wanting to steal” her husband. It was only when the victim reported the incident to her stepmother in 2019, that a case was opened at a police station in Pretoria.
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The docket was transferred to the Polokwane Police Station, where the accused was arrested.
During trial, he pleaded not guilty and the state called the victim’s stepmother to testify as a first report witness.
There was no DNA evidence to link the accused to the offence.
The investigating officer managed to gather all the evidence to link the accused to the offence despite the victim’s biological mother’s non-cooperation with the investigation.
“The victim impact statement, which was taken by the court preparation officer, was submitted as evidence. The statement indicated that the victim had been traumatised and felt embarrassed when fellow learners would discuss sex education during life orientation classes, as she knew that they were aware of her rape case. The ordeal impacted her studies negatively as she had to repeat school grades and relocate to another province,” Malabi-Dzhangi said.
The pre-sentence report recommended that the accused should be sentenced to life imprisonment.
“We stand firm to fight gender-based violence, and we hope that would-be offenders will learn from this sentence,” Malabi-Dzhangi added.
