Pretoria man jailed for life for child rape

Zuko Komisa

A 33-year-old Pretoria man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of a six-year-old girl.
The man, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced after the court heard how he raped his neighbour’s daughter during a party.
The court also ordered his name to be added to the Register of Sexual Offenders.

A 33-year-old man from Pretoria has been handed a life sentence by the Nigel Magistrate’s Court after he was found guilty of the rape of a six-year-old girl. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minor victim, pleaded guilty to the heinous crime committed against his neighbour’s daughter.

The court heard that on 17 February 2024, the convicted man was hosting a party at his home in Duduza. The little girl, who was in attendance, went to an outside toilet when the man followed her inside and proceeded to rape her. Following the assault, both the man and the child returned to the party.

Later that evening, the victim’s mother discovered something was wrong when her daughter complained of pain and was unable to put on her underwear. The mother observed that the child’s vagina was swollen and had what looked like a white residue on it. When the mother asked what had happened, the child disclosed the assault. The following day, the matter was reported to the police and the man was arrested at his home.

In his guilty plea, the man confessed to the rape and acknowledged that he was linked to the crime by DNA evidence. During sentencing, his legal counsel requested the court to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence, arguing that the man was a first-time offender with three minor children of his own. The defence also highlighted that he had been in custody for over a year and had shown remorse by pleading guilty.

State Prosecutor Phumlani Nkalanga countered these arguments, stating that the man was convicted of a serious offence and that such crimes have become a “pandemic” in South Africa. Nkalanga added that the victim had been left traumatised and hurt by someone she should have been able to trust.