'This crime was heinous'

2008-06-27 15:41

Grahamstown - An elderly Eastern Cape man sentenced to life in prison for raping and fathering a baby with his young stepdaughter had his application for leave to appeal against sentence dismissed on Friday.

This followed the term of life imprisonment imposed by Grahamstown High Court Judge Elna Revelas on Wednesday.

She had earlier convicted the accused of "raping the girl on numerous occasions" between December 2006 and February 2007.

The complainant - then 11-years-old - gave birth to a baby girl last November, shortly before she turned 12.

The Sotho-speaking man, 56, who cannot be named, instructed his Legal Aid Board-appointed lawyer Templeton Solani, to bring the application after the sentence was finalised.

After hearing arguments from both the defence and state counsels, Revelas concluded "that no other court would come to different findings than the trial court and further, there were no reasonable prospects that the appeal could succeed."

"Extraordinarily harsh"

Solani had argued that the 'accused was an unemployed man who had had no schooling, and was a first time offender and had been in custody for a year.

"Although this is an extremely serious crime and is deserving of long term imprisonment, a life sentence would be extraordinarily harsh," he said.

Senior state advocate Nickie Turner opposed the application on the grounds that "the crime against the girl was so heinous and the consequences for the complainant so devastating, society would expect no less than a life sentence from this court."

Revelas reasoned that the case had taken a long time to come to court, because the complainant "was not mentally strong enough to testify until she had given birth to her baby.

"The accused had to remain in custody until the police could fully investigate the matter and take statements from the girl."

She said if it were not for the victim's mother and aunt, "her (the girl's) life would be in irreparable tatters at this stage".

Citing the evidence of clinical psychologist Karen Andrews, Revelas said the girl still suffered from post-traumatic stress as a result of her experiences.

"The baby is an indelible and daily reminder of the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather, and she is still suffering from its effects," she said.

- SAPA