A 43 year old man who repeatedly raped his 10 year old stepdaughter since she was aged five (5) has be sentenced by the Durban High Court to nine (9) Life Terms and 173 years in prison after he was found guilty on 56 counts.
Some of the charges included Rape, Human Trafficking, Sexual Grooming, Sexual Abuse, Compelling a Child To Witness Self Masturbation and Distribution of Child Pornography.
The man whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of the child was arrested twice by members of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) on June 12, 2018. He then escaped from police custody while receiving treatment at Osindisweni Government Hospital (OGH) on the same day and was again tracked down by members of Reaction Unit South Africa and re-arrested in Phoenix.
The suspect then applied for bail in the Verulam Family Court amidst a public outcry and a staged protest on the day of his appearance. The investigating officer Warrant Officer Nevarge Lutchminarain from the SAPS Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) informed the court that the accused had threatened the child and RUSA Officers in the presence of other Law Enforcement Officers after his arrest.
Magistrate Irfaan Khalil then remanded the accused to Westville Prison to await his trail. The accused spent one thousand and nineteen (1019) days in custody.
Due to the seriousness of the charges the case was transferred to the Durban Magistrates Court where Senior Public Prosecutor Cheryl Naidoo represented the state. The accused was eventually convicted and sentenced on Friday March 26, 2021 in the Durban High Court by Judge Mohini Moodley.
The accused is believed to have raped the child over 900 times since the death of her mother in 2013.
She informed police that the stepfather had raped her almost every second day at their residence in Benoni, Effingham, Pinetown, Reservoir Hills, Sydenham and other areas in Gauteng and Kwazulu Natal. The accused worked as an Auto Electrician and had no fixed abode. He relocated every few months with the stepdaughter and would pick up and leave when the child’s maternal family would make contact with her. Investigations also initially revealed during his bail application that the suspect was charged and convicted for Assault and Malicious Injury to Property in 2004 and 2006. The complainants in both cases where the suspects own parents.
A protection order was also granted in 2015 to the ex-girlfriend of the accused after he informed her that through his Military training he would be able to kill her and make it look like a suicide. The child was later assessed and found that at the age of ten (10) she would not fit in with Grade 5 Education and would have to be placed in Grade 3. It could not be established if the child had completed Grade 1. Investigations further revealed that the child feared for her life because her stepfather had repeatedly informed her over the years that he had killed her mother and would do the same to her if she informed anyone of their sexual activity.
The Legal Aid Attorney who initially represented the accused during a bail application informed the Magistrate that his client was severely injured by RUSA Officers during his arrest and needed medical attention. The Presiding Magistrate addressed the accused stating there was no evidence to support his claim that he was assaulted by Reaction Officers.
The rape was uncovered when a resident of Neptune Drive in Verulam found a used condom inside a one bedroom house used by the accused and the child. Believing that the child was raped, a group of residents questioned her briefly. She explained the sexual assault and rape had spanned five years. She added that the stepfather had closed off all windows to their bedroom and bathroom with blocks and allowed just one entry point to the home with no ventilation. She was kept away from school for years and was forbidden to communicate with her family and neighbours.
The residents then confronted the accused when he arrived home and assaulted him. His mobile phone was confiscated and several video recordings of the rape was found. Recordings of other men and woman engaged in sexual activity with the child were also found on the memory card. No other suspects were identified or charged since. Pictures of the accused using woman’s lingerie was also discovered on the phone. Residents then contacted the RUSA Operations Center for assistance and upon arrival Officers restrained the man. Several sexual aids, dildos and vibrators were found inside the home.
In passing sentence Judge Mohini Moodley found the accused guilty of all 56 Charges and added that accused should be registered as a sex offender and not be allowed near children. Moodley further added that the stepfather had prostituted the child for financial gain and the Investigating Officer should pursue charges against all those that abused the child sexually.
The accused will serve his prison sentence at Westville Prison in Durban.
Read the original article on Reaction Unit South Africa
