Cape Town – Appealing to the High Court in Bhisho to reduce his 22-year prison sentence for raping his teenage daughter has backfired on an Eastern Cape father.
The 77-year-old man had been sentenced in the Zwelitsha Regional Court in May 2014. But he has now been handed a life sentence after appealing his sentence, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani said in a statement.
The State prosecutor argued that the 22-year sentence was an injustice and that the minimum sentence of life imprisonment should be imposed.
Initially, he had denied raping his then 15-year-old daughter, but DNA linked him to the crime. He then admitted he had had sexual intercourse with his daughter, but claimed she had given him consent. The claim of consent was refuted in court.
On both occasions she was raped at their Mgxotyeni home, the then 15-year-old had been physically threatened. After the second time he had raped her in 2012, he threatened to kill her if she told her mother.
The teenager broke her silence four days after the rape, when the SAPS had visited her school to educate pupils on the importance of reporting rape and domestic violence, Ngcakani said. She had raised her hand, cried and told the police what had happened to her.
After the last rape, the father had instructed her to wipe herself with a handkerchief, then kept it under lock and key. However, after informing the police she had been raped, she asked her father for the handkerchief under the pretence she would wash it, Ngcakani said.
He told her to go and fetch it in his room, then grabbed and tried to kiss her. She subsequently handed the handkerchief over to the police.
IOL