'It is too late for apologies'
2008-06-25 21:29
Johannesburg - A man who raped and fathered a baby with his 11-year-old stepdaughter was sentenced to life in prison by the Grahamstown High Court on Wednesday.
Judge Elna Revelas told the 56-year-old Aliwal North man that he had showed a complete disregard for his stepdaughter as a person and had used her for his sexual purposes whenever he felt like it.
The accused - who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the girl - was found guilty earlier this week of raping the complainant numerous times between December 2006 and February 2007.
He had pleaded not guilty to raping the girl but admitted he had had consensual sex with her in May last year.
However, medical evidence was given to the court which indicated that the baby was conceived some time in February of that year.
Revelas said the accused's aggravated criminal culpability in the "appalling circumstances" of the case was further compounded by the fact that the girl had been raped the previous year when she was only 10-years-old.
The accused had been a key state witness at the trial of the man accused of her rape.
"A year later after she had first reported the rape to you, you decided to sexually abuse her which resulted in her pregnancy and her giving birth to her baby girl at an extremely young age.
"You have admitted that you raped the girl on numerous occasions and your explanation that you were possessed by evil really does not take us anywhere at all.
Revelas said the fact that the accused had apologised to the girl's mother and aunt and expressed remorse did not mean much.
"In my view, it is too late to offer apologies when you know you are facing a very long prison sentence. If you were remorseful then you would have pleaded guilty at the outset of this trial.
"Instead, you chose to portray yourself as the innocent victim and the young complainant as some kind of adult temptress. She trusted you as a father figure and instead of looking after her interests and well-being, you made her a substitute lover for her absent mother."
- SAPA