By Thapelo Molefe
A 41-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his 12-year-old niece three times while she was living with her grandparents in Etwatwa, Ekurhuleni.
The Benoni Regional Court also sentenced the man to five years’ imprisonment for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The sentences will run concurrently.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the offences were committed between October 2019 and June 2021, when the child was staying with her grandparents and older sister.
ALSO READ: ANC threatens Electoral Court challenge over disputed Johannesburg election results
The first rape occurred during a wedding at the grandparents’ home in October 2019. The man followed the child into an outside toilet, where he raped her and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.
The other two incidents happened when the child was home alone while her grandmother was at work. The man allegedly visited the house, pushed her to the floor, raped her and assaulted her.
The offences came to light in June 2021 after the child’s older sister noticed a change in her behaviour and asked her what was wrong. The child disclosed the abuse to her sister, who informed their grandmother. The grandmother subsequently reported the matter to the police.
The accused was arrested on 26 September 2022 at Boksburg Prison, where he was already serving a five-year sentence for sexual assault.
During the trial, he pleaded not guilty and denied raping the child. However, Regional Court Prosecutor Refiloe Neluonde presented evidence from the child, who testified through intermediary services, and her older sister, which secured his conviction.
During sentencing proceedings, the defence asked the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence, arguing that the accused had already spent more than three years in custody awaiting trial.
Neluonde opposed the application, arguing that life imprisonment was warranted because the man had committed the offences while on parole in another matter and had abused the trust associated with his family relationship.
She told the court that he had exploited the child’s vulnerability instead of protecting her and had shown no remorse by continuing to deny the offences.
Acting Regional Court Magistrate Mamelo Mafisa agreed with the State, finding that the accused had abused the trust placed in him and had shown no remorse. The court found no substantial and compelling circumstances to justify a lesser sentence and imposed life imprisonment.
The court also ordered that the man be placed on the National Register for Sex Offenders and declared him unfit to work with children.
Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi welcomed the sentence and commended Neluonde and investigating officer Warrant Officer Mafuko Alfred Shokwane of the Benoni Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for securing the conviction and sentence.
ALSO READ: ANALYSIS | Johannesburg needs to fix its finances without sacrificing service delivery
Mzinyathi said the NPA hoped the sentence would send a strong message that “sexual offences committed against children and other vulnerable members of society will not be tolerated” and that perpetrators would be held accountable.
The NPA also urged victims and members of the public not to be deterred by the passage of time when reporting sexual offences.
“Such crimes should be reported to the police, regardless of how much time has elapsed, to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice,” the NPA said.
