The court heard that the raped girl’s mother would wake her up, telling her that she needed to take part in some rituals in the middle of the night, with the stepfather.
POLICE in Limpopo have welcomed the life sentence handed down by the Modimolle Regional Court against a 40-year-old man who was convicted of raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter.
“The court heard that the man, who was 38 at the time, repeatedly raped his 15-year-old stepdaughter for a period of two years,” Limpopo police spokesperson, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo narrated.
The ordeal happened between 2020 and 2021.
“The court further heard that the mother of the victim (girl) would wake the victim up, telling her that her father had to perform ritual exercises on her in the middle of the night,” said Mojapelo.
“The mother alleged that she was not aware of exactly what was happening to her daughter.”
The case was successfully investigated by Sergeant Motlatjo Tukakgomo of the Modimolle SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant- General Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the hefty sentence, adding that it will serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
“We commend the sterling investigations conducted by Sergeant Tukakgomo that secured the life imprisonment. This sentence will send a strong message against child rapists or molesters that the police are determined to deal with crimes perpetrated against women and children,” said Hadebe.
Last month, police in Limpopo welcomed the imprisonment of a 48-year-old man who raped his 14-year-old stepdaughter in November 2016 in Westenburg, near Polokwane.
At the time, provincial police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the Mankweng regional court found that the 48-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the minor victim, followed his stepdaughter home after they attended a family gathering in the same area.
The teenager’s mother was left behind at the gathering.
“The little girl was in her bedroom, preparing to sleep when the accused entered her room half-naked, and raped her,” Ledwaba narrated.
“According to information, the mother later followed the two, and when she entered their home, she found her husband half-naked in the passage while her daughter (was) crying in her room.The matter was not reported to police until the victim informed her stepmother five years later, while visiting her biological father in Pretoria on 29 January, 2021.”
IOL
