Staff Reporter
A 36-year-old man from Clocolan has been sentenced to six life terms by the Free State High Court after he was found guilty of raping his 14-year-old daughter.
In a statement, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Judge Pina Mathebula sentenced the father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughter, for raping her six times between May and July 2021.
“The victim was staying with the accused, his wife, who is her stepmother, and two other siblings,” read part of the statement issued by NPA regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping on Thursday.
“In May 2021, the accused told his wife that his late brother told him in a dream ‘to get rid of a tokoloshe that was inside the victim’. The very same night of the alleged dream, the accused raped the victim. The last rape incident took place on 25 July 2021,” added the statement.
The court, sitting in Ladybrand, heard that the wife tried to reprimand him but he assaulted her.
As if not enough, he overpowered and raped the victim, despite her cries and his wife’s reprimands.
He threatened to kill both of them if they were to tell anyone of what he did.
A day later, the accused’s sister visited the family and the wife told her what the husband had done to the child.
The sister reported his brother to the police and he was arrested.
In aggravation, state prosecutor Advocate Moipone Moroka submitted a victim impact report facilitated by Bulelani Mothabeng in which the victim said that she thanks her aunt for coming to her rescue because if it was not for her, she would still be her father’s sex slave.
Moroka further argued that the scourge of violence against women and children has reached an alarming proportion and can be described as a pandemic.
“What aggravates the matter is that the father raped his own daughter multiple times over a period of three months and this means he had ample opportunity to reflect on his actions, but he continued betraying the trust his daughter had in him,” said Moroka.
The father was sentenced to six life sentences for rape and two years for assault and the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.