Dad "lucky" not to get life term for rape of daughter (Port Elizabeth, South Africa)

A High Court judge told UNNAMED DAD that he was "lucky" for not receiving a life imprisonment for the (multiple) rapes of his youngest daughter. Dad has admitted that he raped the girl between 1999 and 2002. An older daughter was also molested, and that's not even going into the pornography stuff.

http://www.theherald.co.za/article.aspx?id=543777

Father ‘lucky’ not to get life term for rape of daughter

2010/03/20
Nomahlubi Jordaan jordaann@avusa.co.za

PORT Elizabeth High Court Judge Jannie Eksteen told a businessman – who raped his youngest daughter and molested the eldest – that he was “lucky” not to have received the minimum sentence of life imprisonment for the rape.

Eksteen told the man – shortly after defence counsel Terry Price read out his plea explanation and a sentence agreement with the state – that he would have received the minimum sentence for rape had it not been for the agreement that his daughters had entered into.

“Consider yourself lucky ... I’m prepared to sentence you as set out in the agreement,” he said.

As per the agreement, the man – who cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughters – was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he was not convicted of a similar offence during the period.

He was also sentenced to 36 months’ correctional supervision and was placed under house arrest. He was further ordered to undergo therapy and attend other prescribed courses.

The man is to perform unpaid community service at the Kabega Park police station for 16 hours a month, and is also to refrain from alcohol and drugs.

He was further ordered to have no direct or indirect contact with his eldest daughter’s two sons.

When The Herald approached one of the daughters for comment outside court yesterday, she said: “We are glad it’s over. It’s been a struggle for two years.”

In his plea explanation, the man admitted that he had raped his now 19-year-old youngest daughter between January 1999 and December 2002.

He also admitted to having made her undress and pose for him, while he took photographs of her exposed breasts and private parts, when she was aged between nine and 10. She was 11 the last time he raped her.

According to the plea explanation, he told her that what he did to her was their “little secret” and that if she reported it to anyone, her mother would get sick.

On the indecent assault of the elder daughter, he said that during 1984, when she was about five years old, she had been helping him in the garage when he asked her to show him her “fanny”.

He said he started touching her and fondling her private parts.

This incident, he said, was followed by numerous others. He would also force her to watch pornographic movies with him.