Rustenburg - A 50-year-old man was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment for rape at the Calvinia Regional Court in the Northern Cape.
Alfred Swartz of the area of Brandvlei near Calvinia was found guilty on numerous charges of rape.
“The accused was charged with two counts of statutory rape and four counts of rape, with one of his victims, being his biological daughter. These incidents which took several years began in 2013, when the accused had sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 16 years, with her consent,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in the Northern Cape, Mojalefa Senokoatsane.
“The accused had a sexual relationship, with the child who was 14 years old, at the time. During their relationship, the accused became possessive, resulting in him assaulting the child, and when she later refused to have sexual intercourse with the accused, he raped her.”
The case was reported, and the accused was charged with statutory rape. He was arrested, and his bail was successfully opposed.
“Unfortunately, in 2015, the complainant left the area where the crime happened in Brandvlei, and could not be traced, this led to the case being withdrawn and the accused being released.
“In 2015 the accused started to rape his biological daughter, who was eight-year-old at the time of the offence. These incidents occurred regularly over the period from 2015 to 2021.”
The mother of the child reported the case to the police and that her husband, the accused had raped their child, when she was not at home.
“The child mentioned that the suspect, had sexually assaulted her several times since when was eight-years old, and he threatened her not to tell anybody. The suspect was arrested, and his bail was successfully opposed.
"After the suspect was arrested, the victim in the 2013 case came to the prosecutor and mentioned that she left Brandvlei and was residing in Kakamas and the case was reopened. The accused was remanded in custody, until the commencement of his trial. The prosecution led by Regional Court Prosecutor, Solly John Sass, pleaded with the court not to deviate from the maximum sentence."
Swartz was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on the first count of statutory rape, another five years on the second count of statutory rape, 40 years imprisonment on the count of rape and another 40 years imprisonment on the other count of rape.
The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently, meaning he would serve 40 years’ imprisonment.
IOL