A Free State father has been sentenced to six life terms by the Free State High Court sitting in Ladybrand.
A FREE State father has been sentenced to six life terms by the Free State High Court sitting in Ladybrand.
The 36-year-old man was convicted of raping his 14-year-old daughter six times between the period of May and July last year, and received a life term for every rape.
The man cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim.
According to evidence before the court, the girl was staying with her father, her stepmother and two other siblings.
Sitting before Judge Pina Mathebula, it was stated the man told his wife his late brother visited him in a dream and told him to “get rid of a tokoloshe that was inside the girl”.
The same night he had the dream, he raped his daughter.
The court heard the last rape incident took place on July 25.
The wife tried to reprimand her husband but she was assaulted.
He then threatened to kill his wife and daughter if they ever spoke out about what he was doing.
A day later, the man’s sister came to visit and the wife disclosed what was happening to the girl.
The victim’s aunt reported her brother to police and he was subsequently arrested.
During aggravation, State Prosecutor, Advocate Moipone Moroka submitted a powerful victim impact report where the victim thanked her aunt for coming to her rescue and rescuing her from being her father’s sex slave.
Moroka sought the maximum sentence, arguing the scourge of violence against women and children has reached alarming proportions and described it as a pandemic.
“What aggravates the matter is that the father raped his own daughter multiple times over a period of three months. This means he had an ample opportunity to reflect on his actions, but he continued betraying the trust his daughter had in him,” Moroka said.
Judge Mathebula sentenced the father to six life sentences for rape and two years for assault.
It was ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
IOL
