The man was sentenced in the Mitchells Plain Regional Court.
Image: File Picture
A Cape Town grandfather has been sentenced in the Mitchells Plain Regional Court for the rape and attempted rape of his then 13-year-old granddaughter.
The 63-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the victim, was convicted on the charges against him for the crimes against his then 13-year-old granddaughter.
During the trial, the grandfather maintained his innocence and attempted to paint the victim badly. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
State Prosecutor Sergio Lorenzo Goff called witnesses, including the victim, her parents, the doctor who examined her, and the doctor who confirmed the injuries to her genitalia from the Heideveld Thuthuzela Centre.
The court heard that at the time of the rape, the grandfather was out on parole for the rape of his own daughter.
The court heard on May 28, 2018, the grandfather left lasting scars on the life of the now 19-year-old granddaughter.
The teen told the court on the day she did not attend school as she was ill and her grandfather was home at the time. She was in Grade 6 at the time.
She stayed with her parents in the Wendy house in her grandfather's backyard. He is her paternal grandfather.
The court heard the teen’s parents had a rental agreement with the grandparents and this was to make use of the toilet inside the main house, as the Wendy house did not have a toilet.
In the afternoon, she went into the house to use the toilet and when she came out, the court heard the grandfather stood in front of her without saying anything. He dragged her to his bedroom, undressed her, and raped her. She attempted to scream and fight back but was overpowered.
After the rape, the grandfather stood up and left. The teen told the court she ran into the Wendy house, locked herself inside, and went to bed without telling anyone as she feared the consequences if she spoke up.
The following day, the teen was in the main house watching TV and once she heard her grandfather coming into the house she attempted to leave.
He grabbed her and dragged her to the bedroom. This time she fought hard and screamed, bit him, and managed to flee to her father, who was at home in the Wendy house. He confronted his father, called his wife at work and they met at the local police station to file charges. The grandfather was arrested.
In the victim impact statement, the teen said she feels no child should go through what she went through and to date she still does not understand why her grandfather did this to her, when he was supposed to protect and nurture her.
The court heard the teen still experiences flashbacks and nightmares. She told the court she feels broken and her rapist made her feel like a failure in life. He took away her innocence and portrayed her to be a bad person in court.
She experiences difficulties in maintaining relationships and friendships because of a lack of trust in society. Her daily routine since the incident has been eating and sleep.
She does not go out and is uncomfortable around her friends and family. She has had numerous failed suicide attempts as she could not deal with the brokenness. She feels that regardless of the sentence imposed on the accused, he had scarred her for the rest of her life.
The court sentenced the 63-year-old man to life imprisonment for the rape and 10 years direct imprisonment for the attempted rape.
He was declared unfit to possess a firearm, unfit to work with children, and it was ordered his name be placed in the National Register for Sex Offenders, as well as the National Child Protection Register for persons unsuitable to work with children.
The court further ordered the prosecutor to inform the victim of her right to make representations should the accused be considered for parole.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
IOL
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