A Cape Town rapist has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the Cape Town Regional Court for raping his relative who was seven-years-old at the time.
The 42-year-old man from Du Noon cannot be named as he is related to the victim, and to avoid indirect identification and secondary victimisation of the girl.
During the trial, sexual offences prosecutor Ruwayda Badrudeen told the court the girl, seven at the time, was raped as she lay on the couch watching TV.
She did not tell anyone about the ordeal, and she saw her perpetrator as her uncle.
Weeks later, the girl was taken to a local clinic after she was not well, and the medical examination found the girl had contracted sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
At the time her HIV test came back negative, she did not reveal what happened. The doctor requested that the child be brought back a few weeks later for further tests.
The second HIV test came back positive.
The rapist is alleged to have attempted to murder the girl after he found out he had infected her with the disease.
At the time, the investigating officer, Sergeant Luvuyo Simphiwe Goya from the FCS Unit in Milnerton, attempted to get her to reveal what had happened.
One morning, Goya took the child’s grandmother to her school, and she came to the vehicle. She was again asked what happened, and she disclosed that she was raped by the relative. He was arrested on September 7, 2016, and charged with rape.
The court heard there was no DNA evidence as the incident was reported after the 72-hour window period, and thus no exhibits could be obtained.
Initially, the rapist told his attorney he was gay and therefore could not have raped the child.
He also challenged the State, saying if it could prove the child’s HIV strain was the same as his, he would plead guilty.
Badrudeen contacted Dr Koresman, a forensic virologist, at Groote Schuur Hospital, who analysed three viral loads of blood, and the rest were sent to Tygerberg Hospital for analysis. The results took a while to finalise, but came back positive. The accused brought a bail application, was released on house arrest, and went to live with his brother.
At the time of his release, he allegedly raped his brother’s nine-year-old daughter.
He will appear on November 7 in the same court on the second rape matter.
The case faced a number of challenges, including the girl struggling to testify about what happened to her.
The Court Preparation Officer, Bablwa Hlathana, provided court preparation services and encouraged the girl to speak.
Now, age 14, the girl, in her victim impact statement to the court, said she always cried at night as she knew she had a wound that would never heal.
“He did not only rape me, but he also infected me with HIV, and I must drink tablets every night. My life will not be the same again, and I will not forget what happened,” part of the statement read.
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment for rape and 10 years of direct imprisonment for attempted murder.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently and ordered his name to be entered into the National Register of Sex Offenders, which prohibited him from working with vulnerable groups. He may not apply to adopt a child or be a foster parent.
He must inform future employers of the sentence and the orders handed down by the court, which also declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, advocate Nicolette Bell, expressed her dismay at the rate of heinous crimes committed by adults against children.
She applauded the investigating officer for going the extra mile and ensuring an arrest, the prosecutor for guiding the investigation and putting together a strong case, and the court preparation officer for walking the journey with the victim until conviction and sentencing.
IOL