Springs duo to learn fate

He hated his father, who tortured him for years and almost killed him and would kill him if he could, a 15-year-old teenager has told the High Court in Pretoria.

The boy was just 11 years old when he escaped from the Springs family home in 2014 to seek help from neighbours.

The “Springs monster” is a psychopath and sadist who poses a high risk to society, a psychologist told the court.

A moving statement in which the boy said he sometimes wondered why he was still alive and believed his father would have killed him if he had not escaped that night was handed in as evidence in the trial of his parents.

His father, 40, was convicted on 16 charges, including attempted murder, raping his then 16-year-old daughter, abusing and neglecting all five of his children and defeating the ends of justice

His mother, 40, who insisted she was also a victim, was convicted of child neglect, defeating and obstructing justice and drug possession.

The boy’s older sister, who is now 20 years old, said in her statement she never tried to flee because she believed the torture, abuse and neglect was “normal”. She hated her parents, wanted nothing to do with them and wanted both in jail for what they did.

Social workers reported that the three younger children all displayed aggressive behaviour, did not trust adults, were developmentally stunted and should never come into contact with their parents again.

Psychologist Bronwynn Stollarz testified that the father had limited prospects of rehabilitation and posed a high risk to society.

She said the father was severely abused by his own father as a child, was sexually molested by one of his father’s friends and continued the pattern in his own marriage. He developed depression after both of his parents died in a murder/suicide incident.

The father blamed the children and felt he had already been rehabilitated since “finding the Lord”, Stollarz added.

Prosecutor Jennifer Cronje argued that life imprisonment, which meant the father could be considered for parole after 25 years, was not enough and he should be permanently removed from society.

The mother’s advocate, Harry Prinsloo, argued that she was also a victim and should be given a suspended sentence.

Judge Eben Jordaan will sentence the two later this week.

The boy’s older sister said in her statement she never tried to flee because she believed the torture, abuse and neglect was ‘normal’.