Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Man gets five years for rape of stepdaughter
A 37-YEAR-OLD man has been sentenced to five years direct imprisonment after he admitted to raping and impregnating his 14-year-old stepdaughter.
The man, who cannot be identified, proposed that he serve a noncustodial sentence.
The magistrate presiding over the case at the Mitchells Plain Regional Court, wasn’t satisfied with the man’s plea and sentenced him to five years behind bars and deemed him unfit to possess a firearm.
He said in his findings that the step-father had been in a position of trust which he had broken and that the man’s name would be added to the National Sexual Offender’s Register.
The State had also rejected a Section 105 agreement, a plea agreement by the man and his legal representative.
The man had pleaded guilty to a charge of statutory rape after he was arrested in 2019.
The teenager’s mother made the discovery about the pregnancy after the young girl began gaining weight.
The family took the teenager to a doctor after becoming concerned about her health and discovered she was in fact pregnant.
The man had been released on a warning at the time of his arrest. He was ordered to return for his court appearances.
DNA tests revealed that the step father was the father of the baby.
During sentencing proceedings, a probation officer for the Department of Correctional Services, Kapolo Busiswe, testified that the step father claimed he was in a relationship with the young girl.
He had omitted to mention that this was the daughter of his wife.
The officer called on the courts to consider a sentence behind bars which would expose the accused to rehabilitation and recreation and psychology programmes.
The victim is now 17 and her son is 3 years old.
She said in her statement she had trusted her step father and he had disappointed her and her family.
The teenager told of how embarrassed she was and humiliated she felt and had been forced to drop out of school.
“I feel left out because I cannot relate (to my peers) and it is for that reason that I had to leave school.
“My classmates knew what happened and people treated me differently.
“At times, I feel lonely, sometimes thinking of the things I did and it disgusted me.
“I wish I could go back.
“My mother was the only one who had my back. He was supposed to be a father to me and he used to be the better daddy.
“Why did he let this happen? I feel so angry. He used to make it better and made empty promises.
“I lost friends, I lost family. “I know that I will prove them wrong; I will make it.”
The Mitchells Plain community policing forum commended the judicial team for its efforts.
“We thank the magistrate and we acknowledge the community and the prosecutor and we express our deepest gratitude to the correctional officer who truly stood her ground and stood firm. We trust that she will continue to do her work and serve both parties equally.”