Three life sentences for child (5) rapist father

AFTER moving testimony was presented in court, a 32-year-old father of Mzingwenya Reserve outside eSikhaleni will spend the rest of his life behind bars, after being found guilty of raping his five-year-old biological daughter.

The rapist, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was convicted in the Richards Bay Regional Court on Monday and sentenced to three life jail terms.

His name will be added to the National Sex Offenders Register.

Both the victim and her grandmother, an educator, provided emotional and convincing testimony of the trauma caused by the perpetrator’s deed.

The grandmother’s impact statement used during the sentence stage of the trial spoke of the heartache:

‘It was very difficult to see her so small and in so much pain; even the examinations were so very painful too.

‘I am uncomfortable to this very day if she is not near me. So much damage can happen in a very short space of time.

‘No matter how hard we try, nothing can change what happened.’

The court heard that in November last year, the accused went to his mother-in-law and asked her to allow the child to visit him.

The court was told that the accused took the victim to his residence where he repeatedly raped her.

During the trial a state witness told the court that on the day of the incident, they had heard the crying from the home next door and when they entered the accused’s room, they found him in the act of raping the girl.

A case was opened at eSikhaleni Police Station by her grandmother and the docket was transferred to Empangeni FCS for further investigation.

The accused was arrested on the same day and made several appearances at eSikhaleni Magistrate’s Court and was out on bail, until his conviction.