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A 36-year-old man who raped his stepdaughter when she was nine years old was sentenced to life in prison at the Pretoria Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The man was ousted in the most unsuspecting way when the victim and her mother attended a church service on a Sunday in January 2019
A spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Gauteng Lumka Mahanjana says during the church service, the pastor prophesied that the child had been sexually assaulted by a then 33-year-old man.
She says after church on their way home, the child confessed to her mother that her stepfather indeed raped her for over a year during evenings her mother left for work.
Mahanjana says the mother confronted her husband, identified as Mr X, to protect the child.
He denied the allegations against him and they both took the child to a doctor at Laudium Hospital where the sexual assault was confirmed.
Mr X was arrested at the hospital after the victim told his story to social workers.
Mr X pleaded not guilty but the NPA successfully opposed his bail and he had been in custody since his arrest.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi thanked the pastor and community leaders for their contribution and assistance in ensuring justice for the child
