Pretoria - Convicted child rapist, Nicholas Ninow, on Wednesday took the stand in the High Court in Pretoria and tearfully read out a poem he wrote to his seven-year-old victim.
He also apologised to his grandmother and his young son, who was born while he was in prison.
He blamed his actions on his drug addiction. He told the court that he was on crystal meth and CAT on the day of the incident, saying this turned him into a different person.
"My state of mind was not that of a sober person, I wouldn't have done what I did if I was sober," he said.
Ninow was testifying in mitigation of his sentence and he also read a letter he wrote to the family of the girl he violated in a toilet at the Dros restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria last year.
He said wrote the letter and poem to show the court how he feels about what he did.
State prosecutor Dorah Ngobeni put it to Ninow that the reason he was testifying was because he wanted a lenient sentence.
Responding, Ninow said: "No, that's not the case. Like I said I owe it to these people, I would feel better about myself if I apologise. It's my duty and responsibility to apologise."
However, Ngobeni argued that if Ninow was indeed remorseful his evidence would not have been contradictory with that of the victim.
Ninow blamed this on his vague recollection of events saying that he was affected by the alcohol he consumed and drugs he used on the day.
He maintained that he did not plan the harrowing events of that day and did not target the girl.
"Like I said, I don't know what went into my mind that day. At the time, I didn't really care about anything. I was doing things on impulse, I guess I was angry and I made a mistake and I intentionally did those things with that girl."
Ninow said he wanted the world to know how he feels about the case and how he feels about what he had done.
"People don't need to hate me, I do enough of that for all of us."
The court also heard that Ninow has been doing drugs while incarcerated.
"There's drugs everywhere in prison," he said.
He said his drug problem started when he was 13-years-old.
The matter continues.