Man sentenced to double life for raping 13-year-old stepson
A 36-year-old man from Digoale village near Leuwfontein in Limpopo has been sentenced to two life terms in prison plus five years for repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting his 13-year-old stepson.
The Groblersdal Regional Court convicted the man, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of the minor victim, on two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm, placed on the National Register for Sex Offenders, and prohibited from working with children.
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The offences occurred between August 2019 and September 2021 at Masakaneng in the Groblersdal area, while the accused was living with the victim’s mother.
In the first incident, the man called the boy to the kitchen, inappropriately touched him, then took him outside to an unfinished house in the yard where he produced a knife and raped him.
On the second occasion, with no one else at home, he took the boy to the bedroom, undressed, ordered the child to do the same, sexually assaulted him, and warned him not to tell anyone or he would stop supporting the family financially.
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In the third incident, while the boy’s mother was at a funeral, the accused called the victim to his bedroom and raped him again.The abuse only came to light in 2023 after the accused falsely accused the victim and his mother of having an intimate relationship. The boy then broke down and disclosed the years of abuse to his mother.
During sentencing, State Prosecutor Raesibe Sharon Malatji presented a Victim Impact Statement detailing the severe psychological trauma the boy continues to suffer. He struggles to trust others and expresses his pain through poetry, writing a letter to the court pleading for justice so he could reclaim his life.
Regional Magistrate Tsakeriwa Mabasa ruled that the aggravating factors, including the breach of trust and the devastating impact on the child, far outweighed the accused’s personal circumstances. The magistrate said the man deserved to be permanently removed from society. The two life sentences will run concurrently on counts 2 and 3.
The National Prosecuting Authority welcomed the outcome. Director of Public Prosecutions Adv. Ivy Thenga said the sentence brings some measure of justice and closure to the victim and his family by removing a dangerous offender from the community.
She commended Prosecutor Raesibe Sharon Malatji and all stakeholders involved in the successful prosecution.
