Stepfather sentenced to nine life terms for raping minor more than 900 times

A 43-year-old man from Kwa-Zulu Natal was sentenced to nine life terms after he was found guilty of 56 counts, including charges of rape, sexual abuse and human trafficking.

As reported by Reaction Unit South Africa, some of the other charges include Sexual Grooming, Sexual Abuse, Compelling a Child To Witness Self Masturbation and Distribution of Child Pornography.

Rapist sentenced to nine life terms

Rape of minor for years

The yet-to-be-name man was arrested by members of the Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) on 12 June 2018 but escaped from police custody while at the Osindisweni Government Hospital (OGH).

He fled to Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal, where RUSA tracked him down and took him into custody again. RUSA said the man applied for bail in the Verulam Family Court and also “staged a protest on the day of his appearance”.

However, he also threatened the 10-year-old victim “in the presence of other Law Enforcement Officers [and investigating officer Warrant Officer Nevarge Lutchminarain] after his arrest”.

A video of this interaction can be viewed here. The man was “remanded to Westville Prison where he awaited trial and had since spent 1 019 days in custody. During that time, his case was transferred to the Durban Magistrates Court.

Convicted of 56 charges

Durban High Court by Judge Mohini Moodley convicted and sentenced the man on Friday 26 March 2021. It came out in court that the accused “raped the child over 900 times since the death of her mother in 2013”.

The court heard from the victim how he had raped her “almost every second day at their residence in Benoni, Effingham, Pinetown, Reservoir Hills, Sydenham and other areas in Gauteng and Kwazulu Natal”.

The accused will serve his prison sentence at Westville Prison in Durban, Kwazulu-Natal.

History of rape and other sexual activities

The man, who works as an auto electrician, and the victim would relocate every time when the child’s maternal family tried to get in touch with her. The child feared for her life after the man informed her that he had killed her mother.

He threatened to kill her as well if she told anyone about what he was doing to her. In addition to these charges which concluded on Friday, the man also had several other charges against him. More details below.

RUSA said in a statement that the “rape was uncovered when a resident of Neptune Drive in Verulam found a used condom inside a one-bedroom house used by the accused and the child”.

Minor’s confession

This lead to concerns that the child may have been raped and a group of Verulam residents questioned the child. She confessed that the rape and other forms of sexual assault began when she was five years old and had spanned five years.

In addition, the girl said her stepfather had “closed off all windows to their bedroom and bathroom with blocks and allowed just one entry point to the home with no ventilation”.

She was kept out of school and he prevented her from contacting or communicating with family and friends. Following this revelation, the residents confronted the accused.

The residents forcibly confiscated his phone and found video recordings of his sexual activities with the minor. The phone also contained recordings of “other men and women engaged in sexual activity with the child”.

The residents then handed the man over to RUSA members after restraining him. His home was searched and investigating officers found “several sexual aids, dildos and vibrators were found inside the home.”

Investigation continues

To date, the 43-year-old suspect had been charged, and no other suspects had been identified.

Judge Mohini Moodley convicted the man of 56 charges and ruled that the accused should be registered as a sex offender. Investigations will continue to trace the financial gains the man received for prostituting the child.

In addition to the above, the man was convicted of Assault and Malicious Injury to Property in 2004 and 2006 after his parents opened a case. In 2015, a protection order was granted to a former girlfriend of the accused.

He allegedly informed his former girlfriend that, “through his Military training, he would be able to kill her and make it look like a suicide”.