Stepfather sentenced to life for decades of sexual abuse

A stepfather has been sentenced to life imprisonment including forty years for the rape of his daughter whom he sexually violated for nearly 20 years and claimed they were in a consensual relationship - and even convinced his family of it.

The Mitchells Plain Regional Court heard the overwhelming testimony of the victim, who is now 24 years old together with the physical evidence, which sealed the fate of the man.

The man, who took the witness stand, claimed that his step daughter became his sexual partner from the age of 19 in a consensual relationship, which he convinced his family of.

The man, who may not be identified, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of his step-daughter whom he sexually assaulted since the age of seven, later leading to rape.

He was slapped with an additional forty years for charges relating to the sexual assaults and molestation, which is to run concurrently with the life imprisonment sentence.

The court ordered that his name be recorded in the National Register for Sex Offenders.

He is also to be declared unsuitable to work with children and the court directs that his name be recorded in the National Child Protection Register for persons unsuitable to work with children.

The state must inform the complainant of her right to make representations if the accused is considered for parole or correctional supervision.

The State led evidence that the victim’s mother got married to the accused when she was seven-years-old and that she called him “Daddy” and that when she was seven-years-old he began sexually violating her.

This continued for nearly two decades.

“The victim was 24-years-old. She was the stepdaughter of the accused, her mom got married to him when the complainant was 3 years old. Evidence by the complainant, the accused and her mother who testified for the accused and sided with the accused was that she called him Daddy from the age of three,” said the Mitchell’s Plain Community Policing Forum in a statement shared with the Cape Argus.

“For almost 2 decades she was sexually violated, touched and raped with his fingers, it evolved to rape with his penis up until the age of reporting the incident.”

During trial proceedings he claimed he had an affair with the complainant from the age of 19 years old, taking part in consensual sexual relations with the victim in the same house she was raised. 

“Comments by the probation officer was that he seemed to have convinced his wife and the rest of the  family that he had sexual relations with his own stepdaughter who called him Daddy,” said the CPF.

“Gruesome details in his own version was found by the court to corroborate the evidence of the victim, together with  medical evidence indicating old scars, wounds and tears, which was still present despite the victims advanced age.”

The CPF’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Linda Jones said they welcomed the sentence and commended the state prosecutor, Chantal Adams.