Cape Town - A pastor has been sentenced on multiple charges including rape, and sexual assault, in the Oudtshoorn Regional Court.
The pastor, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of his victims, was convicted on three counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault, sexual assault, and 26 charges of child pornography.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the pastor indecently assault and raped a 13-year-old girl at his house, office and church in 2003.
The victim reported the matter to the police in 2018.
Ntabazalila said the pastor also sexual assaulted and raped his 14-year-old adopted daughter in his house, office and church.
The victim also reported the matter to the police in 2018.
“He was also convicted on 26 counts of child pornography after downloading the images from the internet. He denied that the girls in the images were under the age of 18 years.
“The State led the evidence of an expert witness who testified that the girls were indeed children under the age of 18. The accused admitted that he was addicted to pornography,” Ntabazalila said.
The court deviated from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment and sentenced the pastor to 54 years’ direct imprisonment.
The court further ordered that the pastor’s name be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Advocate Nicolette Bell, welcomed the sentence and expressed her shock at the abuse of power exercised by the pastor over the children who trusted him.
“We condemn any form of violence against women and children. We hope this sentence sends a stern message to other would-be rapists and abusers of children that the courts will do all in its power to send them to jail for a very long time,” Bell said.
IOL