The Pretoria North magistrate's court on Wednesday sentenced a father with five life terms and a 39-year jail term for sexual offences committed against his young daughter.
The sexual offender, 36, was convicted on five counts of rape, and counts of sexual grooming and exposure of pornography to a minor.
The offences occurred between 2020 and 2021 when the girl, then aged 10, was residing with him, said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.
"In 2021, when the child was 11, she told her father's fiancée what had been happening to her. The fiancée then reported the matter to the police. The father was arrested and has been in custody since," Mahanjana said.
"In court he pleaded guilty to the charges. However, before he pleaded he told the court that he was mentally unwell.
"He was sent for mental observation at Weskoppies psychiatric hospital and it was found out that he was sub-intelligent and showed signs of paedophilic disorder. However, he was fit to stand trial."
Prosecutor Hanlie du Preez asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment because the father committed gruesome offences against his child, who he was supposed to protect.
Furthermore, the father showed no remorse because he stopped committing the offences not because he was remorseful but because he was caught.
The court agreed with the state and said it found no compelling and substantial circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.
His name will be added to the national register for sexual offenders. The man was also declared unfit to work with children as well as to possess a firearm.
TimesLIVE
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