Abusive of wife and child

Man jailed for five years

AKHARWASTAN father was jailed for five years for fondling his daughter on three occasions.

The 36-year-old repairman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his minor child, denied sexually assaulting his daughter, aged 11.

However, Magistrate S Hlope disregarded the man’s version and instead described him as a predator on his child.

In her closing address to the court, Prosecutor Shayna Naidoo said a father’s role was to provide love and attention to his child, but the accused was instead a monster in the child’s eyes. Naidoo asked that the man be sent to jail.

The child’s mother, who has been divorced for a year, said the abuse began when her daughter was eight.

“I worked for two years in Pietermaritzburg and spent long hours away from home.

“I would leave home at 4am and return at 10pm.

“After a while I decided it was becoming impossible to spend so much time away from my family and quit work over a year ago.

“My daughter was about 10 at the time. As a stay-at-home mom, I noticed a distinct change in my daughter’s behaviour.

“She was aggressive and emotional. She was also clingy and would react badly when her father called her, even go the extent of crying.

“Even though I questioned her about her behaviour, she would remain quiet and I decided to seek professional help.”

The mother of two said she took her daughter to the Chatsworth police station and they referred her daughter to a counsellor.

“When I found out about the abuse, my world came crashing down. I was married to my husband for 15 years and he often abused me but I was devastated and heartbroken that he would hurt our child.”

The couple have since become divorced.

The mother is trying to pick up the pieces of their lives.

“My 16-year-old son is angry. Our family has been torn apart and every day is a challenge.”

She added her daughter, who testified against her father at the Durban Magistrate’s Court, was glad her dad was jailed and could not hurt her any longer.

“It also emerged in court that her father threatened to kill me if she told me about the abuse.”

She said the Grade 6 pupil still felt insecure around males and was withdrawn.

“With ongoing therapy we hope she can have a good quality of life.”

KZN Childline Director Vanespiri Pillay welcomed the sentence.

“Childline would prefer that stricter, harsher sentences are meted out, so a strong message is sent out to would-be offenders that such heinous crimes against children just will not be tolerated.”