Durban – A 45-year-old father has been sentenced to life
imprisonment for raping and impregnating his 11-year-old daughter.
He was sentenced at the
Empangeni Regional Court on Monday, KwaZulu-Natal police said.
Police said he had been raping
his daughter since she was eight years old.
On June 24, 2016, the victim
experienced stomach cramps and informed her father who then took her to a local
clinic, said Captain Nqobile Gwala.
“At the clinic, it was then discovered that the little girl was pregnant,”
Gwala said.
The victim told a nurse that
she was raped by her father since 2013 in the absence of her mother, Gwala
said.
The victim gave birth that day
but the baby passed away, said Gwala.
A case was then reported at the
Empangeni police station and transferred to Empangeni Family Violence, Child
Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for further investigation.
The accused was later arrested
and tried in court.
On Monday, the Empangeni
Regional Court found him guilty and he was sentenced to life imprisonment for
rape, Gwala said.
KwaZulu-Natal acting provincial Commissioner, Major General Bheki
Langa said, “We will continue to send all sexual offenders to prison where they
belong. Crimes against women and children will always be treated as priority since the victims are most vulnerable
to ruthless criminals whom they trust."
