Durban — A stepfather has been imprisoned for the rape and sexual assault of his stepdaughters.
The Ntuzuma Regional Court sentenced a 46-year-old man to life and five years’ imprisonment for raping and sexually assaulting his stepdaughters.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the incidents happened in January 2022 and March 2023 in the Etafuleni area.
Back then, the girls were aged 9 and 13.
Ramkisson-Kara said that on March 26, 2023, the 9-year-old girl was sleeping in the same room as her siblings when the accused went to her. He put a knife to her throat, told her not to scream and raped her. She reported the incident to her older sister the next morning. The older sister then told their mother what had happened. The older sister also revealed to her mother that the accused had sexually assaulted her in January 2022.
Ramkisson-Kara said the girls were taken to the Phoenix Thuthuzela Care Centre for medical and psycho-social assistance.
She said that, in court, the State represented by prosecutor Senamile Mahlangu led the testimonies of the two girls and their mother. Evidence on form J88 was also submitted to the court.
Mahlangu handed in a Victim Impact Statement compiled by one of the girls and facilitated by court preparation officer Senziwe Mthethwa. In her statement, the girl said the incident changed her life for ever. She feels embarrassed by what happened and is angry all the time.
“The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and five years’ imprisonment for sexual assault. The sentences will run concurrently. Further, the court found him unsuitable to work with children and ordered that his name be entered into the National Register of Sex Offenders,” Ramkisson-Kara added.
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