The Galeshewe Regional Court has sentenced a pastor to life imprisonment for raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter.

At the time, the accused was also a church pastor and had 14 years of experience in the ministry, said NPA regional spokesperson, Mojalefa Senokoatsane.

The accused (44), who was residing with the victim and her mother, is said to have started raping the child in 2017 when she was 14 years old and in Grade 8. The victim endured the abuse until 2018 when she decided to tell her mother.

“The complainant was too afraid to speak up as the accused had also physically abused her mother,” Senokoatsane said. “Unfortunately, her mother did not believe her when she finally told her that her stepfather had raped her.”

‘His name must also be included in the Register of Sex Offenders’

When the accused raped her again, she informed her mother a second time and her mother then suggested a family meeting be held to “sort it out” with the accused family member.

Senokoatsane added that the accused continued to sexually abuse the child until the mother caught him attempting to rape the girl when she walked into the child’s room two years later in 2020.

It was only at this stage that the mother believed the story the victim told her in 2018 and immediately went to the police station to open a case of rape against the accused.

The accused pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence when the charges were presented to him at the commencement of his trial. During the trial, prosecutor Adv. Shareen Theresa Links argued that the accused was not remorseful even when presented with overwhelming evidence, stating he breached the trust and innocence of a minor who viewed him as her father.

“The court preparation officer, Thandi Diphae, told the court how the girl’s school work had suffered and how she felt betrayed by those who were supposed to protect her. She started to act up because of the abuse she suffered and because her mother refused to believe her.”

The accused was then found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on a count of rape and 10 years imprisonment for attempted rape. The court ordered that his name must also be included in the Register of Sex Offenders. The accused was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

“The NPA commends the stellar work of the prosecutors and police in ensuring that another victim of gender-based violence and femicide is protected from the abuser, by ensuring that the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment,” said Senokoatsane.

OFM News/Casey-Lee Anthony cg