Man guilty of raping niece (15)
COURT LENIENT ON RAPIST UNCLE
A MAN who was convicted of raping his 15-year-old niece, who later fell pregnant, was given a suspended sentence by the Tembisa Magistrate’s Court.
The 24-year-old man raped his niece at their home in Tembisa in July 2013.
He was sentenced to four years ’ imprisonment, which was wholly suspended for five years.
The man had pleaded guilty and said in his confession statement that the sex was consensual.
“There was no one in the house, we watched a porn movie on her phone. I was aroused and asked her if we could have sex and she agreed,” he said.
The teenager gave birth to a girl in April 2014, who later died.
Magistrate Thasami Naidoo took the man’s plea as a sign of remorse.
She took into account the fact that the relationship with his family was now strained and aggravated by the fact that a baby was born out of the act. She also took into account that he was a first-time offender.
“I think you have suffered enough already.
“You spent 11 months in custody and you know how it feels like. Even if you stay for a day in custody, you feel the impact,” she said.
“Not only has your family suffered, you also suffered. It is highly unlikely that your family can easily forgive this act.”
Naidoo said the uncle was the adult in the matter and should have prevented the act.
“She is your niece, she is like your daughter. You are the uncle and she was supposed to look up to you,” she said.
Naidoo ordered that the man’s name be added to the national register of sex offenders.
“It means your access to employment is limited. You cannot be able to work in an environment with children.
“Not a lot of people want to work with people with such a record. You are going to face a stigma for people incarcerated for this offence.
“You are going to carry the consequence of this act for a very long time,” Naidoo said.