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A man has been jailed for rape. (iStock)
- A Durban man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for raping his 10-year-old niece after a night of heavy drinking.
- The man moved in with his niece’s family after serving a prison sentence for burglary and robbery.
- The boy struggled to cope with the incident and had to change schools and move to a new area.
A Durban man who raped his 10-year-old niece after a night of heavy drinking will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted and sentenced in Verulam Regional Court.
The National Tax Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday that the 37-year-old man, who cannot be identified to protect the boy’s identity, raped his 10-year-old niece in May 2019 in Cornubia, Verulam.
The girl lived with her father, brothers and grandmother, said NPA spokeswoman Natasha Kara.
“The defendant came to live with them after he was released from prison after serving a sentence for burglary and robbery. He slept downstairs while the girl and her family slept upstairs.
“The night of the incident, the defendant returned home after a night of drinking with friends. He found the boy’s father sleeping downstairs. He then went upstairs to get his bedding and that’s when he raped the boy. He immediately left the house. . “
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Kara said the girl informed her sister.
“The sister told her to go back to sleep. The incident was reported to her grandmother the next morning and the girl was taken to the Thuthuzela Care Center, based at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where she received post-traumatic services.”
“The uncle did not return home and only went to the police to seek refuge when he heard that angry community members were looking for him. The police arrested him when they realized he was a suspect. “
In court, the defendant denied the rape and presented an alibi in his defense.
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“He said he had been drinking the night of the incident and was never at the crime scene,” Kara said.
However, prosecutor Ishara Sewnarayan noted that the girl stated that “she had seen him when she turned on the light in the room.”
“During the cross-examination, the State was able to refute the defendant’s alibi, locating him at the crime scene. His friend also testified that the night of the incident he left his company for a while, ”said Kara.
Sewnarayan delivered a victim impact statement in which the boy said: “After the incident, I had to move to a new area, leaving my school and friends behind. I am struggling to cope. Also, some people have said that I’m spellbound and dirty after this incident. “
