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21 years for stepsister rapist
06/12/2006 22:17 - (SA)
Pietermaritzburg - An Estcourt man who raped and sodomised his nine-year-old stepsister has been sentenced by Pietermaritzburg High Court to 21 years in jail.
On Tuesday, Judge Thumba Pillay found "substantial and compelling circumstances" which allowed him to deviate from the mandatory life sentence for the rape of a minor.
These were that the 20-year-old had come from a dysfunctional family, a broken home, was young and had no previous convictions. Pillay added that he might be capable of rehabilitation.
Pillay said the man's crime was typical of a chauvinistic male who felt he could do with the girl as he pleased.
The man replied to the charges against him by saying he had threatened her with an axe because she had been "disrespectful" to him.
Abused position of trust
The rapist had showed no inkling of remorse, he said.
The girl said he had abused her and she had to change her way of life and could not see her father every day.
Judge Pillay said the man had abused his position of trust and advised him to take advantage of prison facilities aimed at rehabilitating sexual offenders.
The judge said he would have felt uneasy imposing a life sentence as the rape, although a serious and unforgivable crime, was not as horrendous as some.
"I have come across rapes which were so bad one had no difficulty in imposing life sentences on the perpetrators, such as gang rapists.
"One rape of a toddler required surgery to restore a semblance of normality to her and deprived her of an ability to bear children when she became an adult.
"Another rape victim had a bottle shoved in her vagina after she had been raped."
- SAPA
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