Durban - A 47-year-old Phoenix woman has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for raping her 14-year-old nephew.
The woman cannot be named because it would reveal the identity of her victim, who is now 15. She lived with her sister and was sometimes entrusted to look after the boy, but instead raped him over two years.
The conviction, believed to have be a first of its kind in the country, was handed down by Magistrate Jenny Pillay at the Verulam Regional Court on Wednesday.
The State prosecutor was Kaystree Ramsujh.
The woman coaxed the boy into having sex with her on several occasions between July 2012 and August 2013.
She sent him to buy condoms from a local clinic so she could have sexual intercourse with him.
She told him it was normal, children have sex with their aunts and most importantly she was preparing him for manhood.
Police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said the boy’s mother became suspicious and confronted him. He confessed to being raped by his aunt.
Phoenix police were alerted and arrested the woman in August 2013.
Bail had been opposed in court because she posed a threat to the boy.
Building a case proved a demanding task for the police of the Phoenix Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, but Detective Warrant Officer Nivi Lutchminarain persevered.
“Detectives were able to gather sufficient evidence to secure a successful conviction,” Naicker said.
In her defence, the woman said her sister wanted her out of the house so they made up allegations of rape.
Pillay found this version not to be true and said there was an overwhelming case against her and found her guilty.
Eureka Olivier spokeswoman for Operation Bobbie Bear, an organisation that rescues and upholds the rights of sexually abused children, welcomed the conviction, and praised the magistrate and police. “Wonderful news. People don’t believe that women are capable of raping, even raping children.
“We are working on a similar case and we hope to get a similar result,” she said.
KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni commended the Phoenix Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit for the arrest of the suspect.
“It is extremely crucial that people pay attention to children. If people are more observant we will be able to detect abuse in its early stages. It’s very unfortunate that as parents we cannot trust anyone when it comes to our children’s welfare,” she said.
Daily News