Five life sentences and 39 years imprisonment for a fathers' sexual offences
Five Life sentences and 39 years imprisonment for a fathers' sexual offences
The Pretoria North Magistrates’ Court sentenced a 36-year-old father to 5 life terms and 39 years of direct imprisonment for sexual offences he committed to his 10-year-old daughter. The court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, his name be added to the national register for sexual offenders and was declared unfit to work with children or to possess a firearm. This is after he was convicted of 5 counts of rape, 5 counts of sexual offences, 2 counts of sexual grooming and exposure of pornography to a minor. These offences were committed between 2020 and 2021 when the child stayed with him. In 2021, when the child was 11 years old, she told the father's fiancé what had been happening to her. The fiancé then reported the matter to the police. The father was arrested and has been in custody since.
In court, he pleaded guilty to the charges, however before he pleaded, he told the court that he was mentally unwell. He was sent for mental observation at Weskoppies and it was found out that he was of sub-intelligence and showed signs of pedophilic disorder however he was fit to stand trial. The State Prosecutor, Hanlie Du Preez asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment because the father committed gruesome offences against his child, whom he was supposed to protect. Furthermore, the father showed no remorse because he stopped committing the offences not because he was remorseful but because he was caught, added the prosecutor. The magistrate agreed with the state and said he found no compelling and substantial circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi welcomes the sentence. He hopes the sentence will send a message that the NPA is serious about cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV), especially toward the most vulnerable.
Issued by,
Lumka Mahanjana:
NPA Regional Spokesperson
Gauteng Division: Pretoria
073 002 0000