AN uncle will spend the rest of his life behind bars for raping his niece.
This after the Booysens Magistrates Court recently sentenced the 36-year-old to life imprisonment for rape.
Johannesburg Central Police spokesman Captain Xoli Mbele said the court heard how the man raped his niece from the age of four until she was 10 years old.
Mbele said the victim was raped in Naturena, south of Joburg, from 2011 until 2018.
“All these incidents happened at night when her parents were working night shifts, leaving their daughter in the care of her uncle,” said Mbele.
He told Daily Sun the victim started to inflict harm on herself by cutting her hands with sharp objects and she revealed her ordeal to her parents on 23 September 2020.
“The investigating officer gathered all the evidence before the accused was apprehended in Limpopo on 14 March 2021,” he said.
“The good conviction is the result of diligent work done by the investigating officer Sergeant Nkateko Faith Ndobe of the Johannesburg Central Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses Unit.
“We hope this sentence will scare away would-be offenders from committing crimes against children,” said Mbele.
