A 21-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man who was found guilty of raping his 15-year-old disabled relative has been jailed to a life term of imprisonment.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, was sentenced in the Verulam Regional Court.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in KZN, the incident took place in August 2021.
“The accused lived in the same house as the boy and the boy’s sister and mother,” explained NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.
“The boy is mentally and physically disabled and is unable to speak or take care of himself and relies on his mother for assistance and care.
“On the day of the incident, the accused was alone at home with the boy.
“When the boy’s younger sister came home, she saw her brother lying on his stomach on the bed with the accused standing naked behind him.
“Even though she walked away, she reported what she had seen to her mother when her mother got back home. The mother examined the boy and suspected that he was anally penetrated.”
The NPA said the accused fled to the Eastern Cape and was arrested a month later.
The boy was taken to the Phoenix Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC), where he received the necessary support.
In a victim impact statement, the boy’s mother said her son had nightmares following the incident and that she had trusted the accused when she allowed him to stay with them.
In conjunction with the life sentence, the court ordered that the accused’s name be entered into the National Register for sex offenders.
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