A cellphone video recording nailed a 60-year-old man who allegedly raped his 16-year-old daughter several times since May last year, North West police said.
Spokesperson Captain Sam Tselanyane said: “It is alleged that in March 2020, the accused fetched his daughter from the Eastern Cape province citing that she should come and finish her studies, while staying with him.
"According to the victim, her father started to sexually assault her sometime in May 2020. Furthermore, the victim alleges that her father threatened that even if she told anyone, there wouldn’t be enough evidence to proof her allegations."
Tselanyane said on November 2 the man called his daughter to his bedroom as usual, but the girl took her cellphone into the bedroom with the aim of recording the incident.
“The accused saw the cellphone and started questioning the victim, who informed him that she was only searching for the network. Subsequently, the victim managed to record the whole ordeal and thereafter sent the video to her brother in the Eastern Cape. Following that, police were informed and a case of rape was registered and the suspect arrested."
He was arrested on November 10 and appeared in the Marikana Periodic Court on November 11 and his case was postponed to November 18 for bail application.
Investigation into the matter continues.
The girl’s 25-year-old brother reportedly took the cellphone video to police in the Eastern Cape to open a case of rape. Eastern Cape police alerted their North West counterparts who effected the arrest.
The South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) in the North West condemned the incident, describing it as a shocking and despicable act that must be exposed and confronted if children who are the most vulnerable are to be protected from monsters in their homes.
“We commend the courageous victim for using what was available to her to draw attention to the traumatic and atrocious experience she has had to endure for such a lengthy period at the hands of someone who was supposed to love as well as protect her from harm.
“This in our view represents the worst betrayal any child could experience in their life with possible lifelong physical, emotional and psychological scars that run deep," said provincial chairperson Paul Sebegoe.
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