Durban: A 32-year-old man who raped his 12-year-old niece five years ago has been handed a life sentence.
The man was convicted and sentenced in the The uMzimkhulu Regional Court on Thursday.
He cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victim, but his name will be added to the National Register for Sex Offenders.
The National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, Natasha Kara, said the child was raped in the Lourdes area of uMzimkhulu in September 2017.
The victim was 12 and her uncle 27 at the time.
“The child had been living with her grandmother and the uncle had raped her while visiting from Durban for the weekend.
“She immediately reported the incident to her granny, who did not believe her.
“She ran away from home the following day and was taken in by an elderly lady she did not know. She told the lady what happened and the matter was reported to the police. The man was subsequently arrested.”
Kara said the uncle denied the allegations, telling the court that he was not home that weekend, but contradicted himself in his evidence.
In a victim impact statement the child said she felt alone and depressed. She said she had to leave home because nobody there believed that her uncle had raped her.
“She said that even her father has abandoned her.”
IOL