The father, 39, from Lindelani, Benoni, is facing a charge of rape for the alleged continued sexual assault of his daughter, who was 15 at the time of the incidents and apparently later became pregnant with his child. A bail request was heard on Friday.

The alleged abuse began in March 2022 while the victim lived with both parents and her younger brother in Tsakani. On the day of the first incident, the mother was at church, leaving the victim with her father and brother.

It is alleged that the father called the victim into the house while she was playing outside and sent her brother to buy chips. When the victim got inside the house, she found the father in her room.

Father ‘locked the door behind her’

The father allegedly locked the door behind her, raped her, and left her in her room. Upon returning, the mother found the victim crying on her bed. When she asked what was wrong, the victim disclosed what had happened. However, the mother did not believe her.  

After a second alleged incident, the mother still did not believe the victim. The girl stopped telling her about the rape incidents that continued when the mother was not around.

A while later, the victim fell ill, and the mother took her to the Pholosong Hospital, where it was confirmed that the child was pregnant. On an unspecified date, the mother allegedly brought a concoction and told the child to drink it in an attempt to abort the baby, which failed. 

The parents later moved the girl to Limpopo to live with her paternal grandmother, where she gave birth to a boy in December 2022. After turning 18, the victim opened a case in Limpopo on 7 July this year, which led to her father’s arrest on 19 July.

In court, the father requested release on R1,000 bail, citing his role as the primary caregiver of his three children, aged one, twelve, and 18, as his wife is unemployed.

DNA test ‘shows accused is the father’

The investigating officer, Sgt. Tebogo Lephoto, opposed bail, stating that the state had a strong case against the accused. According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in Gauteng, Lumka Mahanjana, DNA evidence confirmed that the accused is the father of the victim’s three-year-old child.

Lephoto also testified that the accused was likely to interfere with witnesses, as he had travelled from Gauteng to Limpopo in an attempt to confront the victim after learning that she had opened a case against him and was speaking about the matter on social media, Mahanjana added.

The case was postponed to Tuesday for a bail judgment.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cvs