Cape Town – The Vredenburg Regional Court has sentenced a father to life behind bars for sexually assaulting and raping his daughter over a period of eight years.
The west coast town of Vredenburg in the Western Cape was home to the father and daughter, who lived together. The child's mother lived elsewhere.
Police spokesperson Andre Traut said the father started molesting his daughter in 2008 when she was nine years old. By the time she was 15, he started raping her.
The teenager only realised her father was committing a crime against her last year, when she was 17 years old, and reported her ordeal to police in July. Traut said police welcomed the life sentence.
"Thorough and responsive investigation by a FCS unit investigator contributed to the speedy conviction and sentencing of the Vredenburg father."