Cape Town - A Khayelitsha father, 59, who has been charged with sodomising, raping and sexually abusing his now 16-year-old foster daughter between 2007 and 2013, will know next week whether he will be granted bail.
Prosecutor Manelisi Macaba told magistrate Vernon Jantjies that since the charge was a schedule six offence, the rape of a minor, bail was opposed.
“They have a number of girls staying in the house. The State opposes bail,” said Macaba.
The father, whose name cannot be revealed to protect the identify of the teenage girl, has applied for bail, citing he has a chronic medical condition.
In an affidavit read out at the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court, the father pleaded to be granted bail because the State did not have “a strong case” against him.
“I am not receiving attention promptly concerning my health as I reported that on the last Tuesday (September12) that I suffered pain in both legs, and they get extremely hot, such that I cannot keep them under blanket,” the affidavit read.
He also complained that there were times when warders at Pollsmoor Prison refuse to provide him with the necessary medication.
Pleading to be released on bail, the father said: “I don’t pose any threat. The complainant is in a place of safety (and) I will comply with any bail conditions.
"Being in custody will hamper my consultation with my lawyer. I stand to lose a great deal if the court refuses me bail.”
He added that he understands the seriousness of the charges against him and will plead not guilty.
According to the charge sheet, the accused sexually assaulted the child “multiple times”, until the child’s schoolteachers intervened and told social workers.
As part of a school assignment detailing the worst day of her life, she wrote down every detail of what her foster father was allegedly doing to her. She also kept a diary listing the alleged rapes.