Life imprisonment for stepfather, Tembisa Magistrates' Court
Life imprisonment for stepfather, Tembisa Magistrates' Court
The Tembisa Magistrates’ Court sentenced a stepfather to two life imprisonment terms for raping his stepdaughter in 2015 when she was seven years old and again in 2019 when she was 11 years of age. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently, and the accused name will be added to the register of sexual offenders. In April 2019, the complainant’s mother left for work leaving her and her younger brother (five years of age), along with their stepfather. During the night, he woke her up and said she must go to his bedroom. She started crying and her younger brother woke up and looked at her before he fell asleep again. In the bedroom, he raped her and threatened her not to tell her mother.
The next morning her mother returned from work and her little brother told her that his sister was crying at night. The mother enquired why and first lied as she feared what the accused told her. She said a cat came at night and scratched her. She was crying hysterically, the mother kept probing her as her explanation about the cat did not make any sense. She then told her mother what her stepfather did to her. They went to the Thuthuzela Care Centre in Tembisa Hospital where she was examined, and fresh injuries were found. The doctor also found an old bruise showing past sexual penetration.
The child revealed that, in 2015 the stepfather did the same thing to her. The doctor confirmed that the bruise is consistent with the state's version that he previously penetrated her four years prior.
The Regional Court Prosecutor, Adele Erasmus argued that the rapes occurred within the family unit where the child thought she was safe and protected. She added that the stepfather deserved no mercy as he abused his position as a father figure and tried to manipulate the complainant to conceal the rapes. The National Prosecuting Authority extends its gratitude for the prompt services rendered by the Tembisa TCC that ensured evidence was timeously collected to secure a successful prosecution. The prosecutor and the investigating officer Constable Tabane are lauded for walking the journey with the complainant to finality.
Issued by,
Phindi Mjonondwane
NPA Regional Spokesperson- Gauteng Local Division
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