Man admits to raping niece, 13
2008-04-22 21:36
Johannesburg - A 55-year-old disabled man pleaded guilty in the Grahamstown High Court on Tuesday to raping his 13-year-old niece in January last year.
The man from Elliot who cannot be name in order to protect the identity of the girl said in his plea statement that he and two others had drunk one and a half bottles of brandy on the day of the rape.
He said the girl came to his house and when his friends left, he felt sexually aroused.
"I became overcome by my sexual urges and asked her for sexual intercourse. She refused and when I threatened to assault her, she agreed," the man said.
The man made an apology in court to the girl and to the people who witnessed the rape.
The man's lawyer, De Jager, said in mitigation his client was completely illiterate and did not even know his age and that of his three children.
De Jager said his client had previously crushed his hip and had not worked since then and received a disability grant of R940 a month.
He said the children called him their grandfather.
The court heard the man had four previous convictions of assault and one of rape.
Sentencing is expected on Wednesday.
- SAPA