Uitenhage dad guilty of raping daughter

2012-09-07 09:10

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Johannesburg - A 43-year-old Uitenhage man has been found guilty by the Eastern Cape High Court in Port Elizabeth of repeatedly raping his 5-year-old daughter, according to a report on Friday.

The Herald reported that the court heard on Thursday that after the child's mother died in November 2009, her father started treating her "like his girlfriend".

The man's stepmother, who lived on the same property, first raised the alarm about his abuse of the girl. She told the court that after his girlfriend died the man started treating his daughter like his lover.

He isolated the child and shared a bed with her. He would rape her while her one-year-old brother slept beside her in the bed.

"He would also chastise her for smiling on the street but not at home, obviously suggesting that she was inappropriately flirtatious," Judge Revelas said in her judgment.

The man, who was aggressive in court, shouting at the police, told the judge during the trial to "lock up his daughter" and not him as she was the one lying.

"He told the court that he would not rape her as he had created her," Judge Revelas said.

Despite medical evidence that his child was badly injured during the rapes, he insisted she had not been raped.

State advocate Joel Sesar asked the court to sentence him to life imprisonment.

The man has a long list of previous convictions, mostly for housebreaking and theft, but also for assault.
He was expected to be sentenced soon.

- SAPA