Stepfather Fails In Appeal Against Life Sentence For Raping, Impregnating And Infecting 9-Year-Old Stepdaughter With HIV

A Cape Town stepfather who subjected his young stepdaughter to a two-year reign of sexual abuse has failed in his bid to overturn his conviction.

The Western Cape High Court dismissed the appeal, affirming the life sentence imposed for crimes that left the child pregnant and HIV positive by age 10. Judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood described the matter as a “harrowing series of tragedies.”

Stepfather’s Claims of Rehabilitation “Without Merit”

The man, who was 60 when the abuse began, argued on appeal that his status as a first-time offender and his advanced age should count in his favour. Judge Mangcu-Lockwood dismissed these arguments completely.

“This [crime] took the form of repeated vaginal and anal sex, oral sex and sexualised touch of the breasts and vagina. Undeterred by his discovery of the commencement of her menstrual period, he continued to rape her until she fell pregnant at 10,” said Mangcu-Lockwood.

The court highlighted the predator’s manipulation, noting he remained undeterred even after the child began menstruating. The abuse only stopped when the child’s pregnancy was discovered.

Child’s Harrowing Ordeal Detailed in Court

The now 13-year-old victim’s suffering extended far beyond the physical assaults. The court heard how neighbours and schoolchildren mocked her for being pregnant before she even understood the concept.

“When people in the street and children at school started calling her names and making comments that she was pregnant, she did not understand what pregnancy meant. She was vomiting three to four times a day. It was not until someone at her school reported their suspicions that there was some intervention,” said the court.

After the pregnancy was discovered, authorities removed the child from her mother’s care. She cycled through three places of safety before discovering her HIV status “in the most cruel way” when another child recognised her medication.

The child gave birth prematurely at age 10 without pain relief or her mother present. The court heard she experienced agonising pain and profound loss when officials took her baby for a closed adoption.

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“The complainant’s childhood was destroyed by the appellant’s conduct. Her family unit was torn apart because, once her pregnancy was discovered, she was separated from her mother and taken away to three successive places of safety,” the court stated.

Social worker Captain A Lakey from the Delft family violence unit provided the child’s voice through comprehensive impact reports. The court commended her for “providing the court with a comprehensive voice for the hapless complainant.”

No Remorse Shown as Court Upholds Life Sentence

Throughout proceedings, the stepfather showed no accountability. He bizarrely claimed the child and her mother conspired to seduce him.

“Eventually, he found himself on top of the complainant who was lying on a bed naked and, in his words, he ‘f**ked the child’. He later tried to retract this evidence,” the court noted.

Judge Mangcu-Lockwood dismissed the appeal against conviction and found no reason to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence. She held that the man’s age was an aggravating factor, as he failed to protect the child and instead preyed on her vulnerability.

The child continues to suffer depression, despair, low self-esteem and physical pain from giving birth before her body fully developed. She also grapples with the permanent loss of both her mother’s daily care and her baby.