A 63-year-old oupa from Hermanus has been sentenced to 20 years in the mang after admitting to raping two children placed in his care.
The man, who cannot be named, was sentenced at the Hermanus Regional Court last week after he confessed to raping two meisies aged 10 and 12 while their parents were at work.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said the State asked the court to impose life for each of the rape charges, but the court deviated from the prescribed minimum sentence, citing his age.
"The accused pleaded guilty and confessed that he raped the minors between March 2021 and September 2021 after their parents asked him to look after them,“ he said.
“In his plea statement, he told the court that he rented a room from the children’s parents in 2020 and moved to another residency three months later. The mother of the two girls asked him to look after her daughters while she and her husband were at work at a guesthouse."
Ntabazalila said the oupa would help the children with their homework and they trusted him.
"One afternoon they fell asleep in his room, and he raped the eldest and molested the younger one. He then told them not to tell their parents.
“He claims that he never hurt them physically, but he now realizes that he hurt them mentally and emotionally.”
The court sentenced the accused to 20 years in the man for each rape charge but ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
It also ordered him to be entered into the National Register of Sex Offenders.