BLOEMFONTEIN – The Bloemfontein Sexual Offences Court has sentenced a 45-year-old man to life imprisonment for repeatedly raping his niece, resulting in her giving birth. This followed occurrences of sexual abuse from early 2016 to July 2017.
Magistrate Carmen Parks, who presided over the trial and sentencing, handed down the sentence on 29 April, ending the case that began in 2022 with the arrest of the accused. She ordered that the accused’s particulars be entered into the National Register of Sex Offenders (NRSO), and he was deemed unfit to possess a firearm. The sentencing was supported by forensic DNA evidence confirming paternity, establishing that the accused was the father of the victim’s child born as a result of repeated rape. WO Tshidi Seale of the Mangaung Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit conducted the investigation.
The accused attempted to evade justice, failing to honour scheduled court appearances for more than a year, despite having been released on bail with conditions. However, the collaborative work of the investigating officer and state prosecutor Azola Key ensured a watertight prosecution. During sentencing proceedings, the accused pleaded for a lesser or suspended sentence, claiming that he was caring for his three children and had 14 people employed at his company. However, the court highlighted the vulnerability of the victim and the gross betrayal of trust by a relative who was supposed to protect her.
The victim’s biological mother died in 2016.
Key argued that the offence was too serious for leniency, citing a victim impact statement in which the victim detailed the profound impact on her mental health and wellbeing.
In 2019, the victim had the courage to reveal her “secret pregnancy,” telling her aunt (wife of the accused) and other family members about her sexual abuse from early 2016 that resulted in her pregnancy. She disclosed all shortly after her grandmother had died in 2019. During proceedings, the court heard details of how the accused purchased alcohol to intoxicate his now-deceased mother-in-law. The court heard that when the grandmother was intoxicated, the accused would call the victim to his bedroom and undress and rape her. She was 14 years old at the time and was attending the same primary school as the accused’s son.
Evidence presented in court revealed that the accused first raped the girl in 2016 in a car along the N8 road while en route to Bloemfontein from Thaba Nchu. The accused had been tasked with collecting the victim and her transfer documents as part of a planned relocation to Bloemfontein. Her move to stay with her aunt, the wife of the accused, was an arrangement following the death of her biological mother.
The court also heard that the victim was subjected to the further trauma of a failed abortion attempt. It emerged that a doctor declined to perform the abortion, citing the high risk to the victim’s life given the advanced stage of the foetus. The court heard the abortion proposal arose from a meeting between the late grandmother, the accused, and the victim, during which the grandmother reportedly said “the pregnancy would destroy her daughter’s marriage” – referring to the victim’s aunt. This was after the granny discovered the victim was pregnant in late 2017.
“This sentence sends a clear and unambiguous message that gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) will not be tolerated within our communities,” said the Free State Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection, Maj. Gen. Apaphia Modise.
“We commend the victim for her immense courage in coming forward, and the meticulous work of the investigating officer and the prosecution team for ensuring that this predator is removed from society indefinitely.”
