Pieter van Tonder convicted of murdering his girlfriend's one-year-old daughter has been sentenced on Friday to at least 25 years behind bars.
Months after many delays in the case from a lack of interpreters to findings in evaluations, Van Tonder's fate was finally sealed at the Western Cape High Court.
In October last year, Van Tonder entered into a plea explanation with the State.
He detailed how he had been smoking mandrax with his friend and was asked by Asheeqah Scott’s mother, Shakiera Scott, to look after the child at his Delft home in September 2016.
He said he assaulted Asheeqah on her head and body and did this three times before she stopped moving.
He also smoked a white pipe at home and burnt her lips with it.
The toddler had old and new wounds to her frail body a pathologist testified last year.
Asheeqah
It is for this reasons that Judge Mushtak Parker ruled that Van Tonder who worked for a trailer company, was a dangerous criminal who needed to be sentenced to at least 15 years imprisonment.
He added that after serving the term in 2043, Van Tonder would have to face a new Judge who would determine his fate and deem whether he had been rehabilitated.
He also stated that Van Tonder's name must be added to the Sexual Offenders Register and that he was to be declared unfit to own a firearm and that he never be allowed to work with children in the future.
Parker said despite Van Tonder's effort to admit guilt, he did not give the court an explanation on why he had killed a defenseless baby.
He said that Van Tonder was a dangerous criminal who did not belong in society.
Outside court, Asheeqah's family members were overcome with emotion and breathed a sigh of relief after many postponements.
genevieve.serra@inl.co.za