Man sentenced to life imprisonment for raping step-daughter

Share the Article:

A 45-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sasolburg Regional Court after he was convicted of rape.

According to Free State National Prosecuting Authority Acting spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane, the man is accused of having raped his 13-year-old stepdaughter.

Senokoatsane said in 2021, while residing with his stepdaughter the accused raped the child.

“The child reported the matter, and a case was opened with the police. The accused was arrested and charged with rape.

“During the trial, regional court prosecutor Hennie Olivier to it to the court that the accused should be sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime he committed.

“The prosecutor further argued that the accused had betrayed the people he should have protected by raping the victim. That he not only betrayed the child by raping her but also took her innocence.

“As the stepfather, he knew that the victim and her family trusted him, hence he took advantage of the family.

ALSO READ | Lifeless body of missing educator found in Sharpeville dam

“The accused knew that the victim was previously a victim of rape as he accompanied her to court to support her during the previous trial,” he explained.

In sentencing, the court sentenced the accused to life imprisonment for raping the child.

Senokoatsane added; “The court ordered that the name of the accused be entered into the national register of sexual offenders. He was also declared in terms of section 103 unfit to possess a firearm.”