A 34-year-old man who raped his girlfriend’s 11-year-daughter, and was nearly caught in the act, was on Thursday sentenced to life in prison.
The Mogwase regional court in the North West imposed the sentence for an incident which happened on March 23 2018.
“It is alleged the mother together with the accused went to fetch the victim from school. The arrangement was that after school the child would go to Northam with the accused to buy her clothing,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Sivenathi Gunya said.
The accused instead took the child to his shack where he stayed with the victim’s mother and raped her after hitting her when she refused to undress. “There was a knock on the door, which was ignored by the accused. The victim could hear that it was her mother at the door.”
The child escaped and opened the door. As the mother entered the shack, she found the accused naked on the bed. She then asked the man what he was doing. A scuffle ensued and the accused tried to hit the mother with an iron bar.
“The mother overpowered him and managed to disarm him and hit him with that iron rod, and he fled. He evaded arrest but was finally arrested nearly two months later.”
Gunya said the trial was further delayed by the constant changing of his legal representatives.
In arguing for a harsh sentence, prosecutor Tebogo Mokoka indicated to the court the man betrayed her trust and that the incident traumatised her.
Magistrate Lebo Raborife agreed with the state and said courts must protect the vulnerable and stop the scourge of gender-based violence.
TimesLIVE
Ernest Mabuza
www.timeslive.co.za
