Father convicted for raping his 11-month-old daughter

The Pretoria High Court in South Africa has found a 32-year-old father from Olievenhoutbosch, guilty of 1 count of rape, 1 count of attempted murder of his 11-month-old daughter, and 1 count of defeating the ends of justice. 

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) NPA Regional Spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana,  disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 

“The father and the mother of the baby were in a love relationship, and on 30 April 2023, in the evening while the couple was at their place of residence, the neighbour came and asked the mother of the child to help her cook since she was having an overnight ceremony. The mother then left the baby with the man,” the statement read.

The following day in the early hours of the morning while the mother was still assisting the neighbour, she saw her partner on the streets. When she asked about the whereabouts of the baby, he told her that he had left the baby sleeping. 

They then walked back together to the house, where they found the baby lying on her chest with her back raised and when the mother touched the child to change her diaper she began to cry. 

As the mother was changing the diaper, she noticed that the baby was bathed, but her private parts were swollen and there was semen on the diaper. The two then took the child to another neighbour who is a traditional healer, while consulting the traditional healer the man confessed about what he did.

On their way back home, the man threatened the mother with a knife and ordered her not to take the child to the clinic. The following day, the mother took the child to a clinic in Venda but was told to return to Pretoria and report the case. After arriving back in Pretoria on 04 May 2023, she reported the case to the police and later that day, the man was arrested at his place of residence and has been in custody since.

In court, the man pleaded not guilty to all charges, and gave a plea explanation stating that on the day of the incident, he had inserted his thumb in the baby’s private part to remove soil particles which were a result of her playing outside and thereafter bathed her. 

However, state prosecutor Adv Vongani Khosa, told the court that the father sexually penetrated his baby because semen was visible. 

The court agreed with the state and rejected the man’s version because it was not consistent with the presence of semen and the state was able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The case has been postponed to 06 March 2023 for sentence proceedings.