A 44-year-old man from Carolina was given a double life sentence after raping his two daughters, a sentence welcomed by the police. This hefty sentence was handed down by the Carolina Regional Court on Monday, 24 August 2020.
The decision by the court to arrive at this conclusion, was informed by overwhelming evidence presented by the victims as well as the investigator and leading evidence by the Prosecutor. This incident took place in Carolina between 6 and 22 August 2017. During the time when this was happening, the children’s mother chose to remain mum while her children endured this barbaric act of violation.
The victims were subjected to severe trauma for quite a long period until one of the children’s teacher became concerned after noticing a sharp drop in her school performance. When asked, the girl related her story to the teacher and also pointed out that her sister too, had suffered a similar experience. The matter was immediately brought under the attention of the police whereupon charges were laid.
The police conducted their investigation, meanwhile the children were taken to a place of safety by Social Workers. Both parents were arrested on 22 August 2017. During court proceedings, the father was found guilty on two counts of rape and the mother for concealing the whole saga.
The sentences were handed down as follows:
On count 1 of rape, the father was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Count 2 rape again, he was also sentenced to another life imprisonment.
Meanwhile the mother was sentenced to five years for her role as she failed to report the matter to the police.
When sentencing the parents, Magistrate Ricardo Regional Cloete reminded the accused what a father means to his children. He told him that a father is supposed to protect his children against harm but instead, the accused was the one who caused the very same harm he was to protect his children from. The mother was not spared either, Mr Cloete lashed out on her, telling her that she supposed to have protected her children too by reporting the matter to the police but she opted to sweep it under the carpet.
Lieutenant General Zuma has indicated that this sentence will serve as a deterrence especially during this time when Gender-Based-Violence (GBV) has become a pandemic in the country.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
