Pretoria - The Pretoria North Regional Court has sentenced a couple from Doornpoort, a 39-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman, to two life terms and 22 years’ imprisonment each for various sexual offences, abuse of their own two children and drug possession.
Lumka Mahanjana,spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Gauteng north region, on Friday said the couple were found guilty of rape, compelled rape, sexual assault, sexual grooming, flashing, child neglect and possession of drugs.
“These sexual abuse offences were committed on their own children, a 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, in 2014. The parents performed gory sexual acts on the children, made the children commit sexual acts to them as parents, to each other as children and forced the children to watch them while engaging in sex,” said Mahanjana.
She said “the mother would teach the daughter by showing her how to perform sexual acts” on her husband, the little girl’s father.
“The children were found by the Community Policing Forum (CPF) at a nearby park, looking dirty, scared and hungry in August 2014. The CPF took them to the police station where they told the police about where their home was. Upon arrival the police found drugs and the couple was arrested for child neglect and possession of drugs,” said Mahanjana.
“Other charges relating to rape and sexual offences were added later after the children revealed further information of what had happened to them when they were placed at a place of safety provided by the Department of Social Development.”
Both parents pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“The prosecutor, Hanlie du Preez, said it was sad that children are not protected by their parents and are not safe in their homes. The court heard that the couple did not deserve to be parents, therefore the prescribed sentence had to be imposed.”
The NPA has welcomed the hefty sentence meted out to the parents.
African News Agency