A Mpumalanga man has been sentenced to 75 years in jail for raping his stepdaughter, while his wife was also arrested for failing to report the crime.
Image: File
The Tonga Regional Court, sitting in Boschfontein, has sentenced a 35-year-old man, Mandla Sipho Khoza, to three life terms behind bars after he was convicted on charges of rape.
Khoza’s wife, aged 36, was also convicted and sentenced for failing to report the heinous crime.
Provincial police spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane said the incident of rape, and the failure to report it, were reported at Schoemansdal police station in 2018.
“The accused is said to have raped his 13-year-old stepdaughter three times in June 2017 while the mother was away. The victim later told her mother what had happened, but her mother instructed her not to tell anyone, so she kept quiet,” said Ndubane.
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The matter came to light when the victim’s aunt found a suicide note.
The concerned aunt reported the matter to the police, and a case docket was opened. The stepfather was arrested for rape, and his wife was also arrested for failing to report the crime.
On Wednesday, the Tonga Regional Court sentenced Mandla Sipho Khoza to 75 years for three counts of rape.
The court ruled that the sentences will run concurrently.
On the other hand, the child’s mother was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years, on condition that she is not convicted of a similar offence during the suspension period.
Meanwhile, acting provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, has welcomed the sentencing of the couple.
The provincial police commissioner added that people who fail to report serious crimes will face the same consequences as the perpetrators.
Earlier this year, IOL reported that a 40-year-old stepfather from Bloemspruit was sentenced in the Free State High Court to life imprisonment for the brutal rape of his 16-year-old stepdaughter, and infecting her with HIV.
The crime, which took place while the victim's mother was hospitalised, came to light when the teenager fell ill and was diagnosed with HIV.
"It was revealed during the trial that the victim claimed she had been sexually molested by her stepfather in 2020 while living in a shanty in Bloemspruit with her mother, younger sister, and stepfather," said police spokesperson Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli.
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