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The man convicted of brutally raping and murdering nine-year-old Rosaline Philander in Rheenendal last year was handed two life sentences in the Circuit High Court in Knysna on Friday.
The court was packed with family and friends of the little girl- as Judge James Yekiso delivered judgment.
The gallery erupted in applause when Ewald Booysen, 32, was handed two life sentences for rape and murder as well as 10 years for kidnapping. His sentences will be served concurrently.
"Although it doesn't bring my daughter back, I'm happy that justice was served today," Rosaline's father Derrek Marneville said.
His daughter's body was found in a wooded area in Rheenendal on August 31 last year.
According to earlier testimony Booysen lured the girl away from where she was playing with friends near her home in Gousblom Street by promising her chips and money.
During mitigation Booysen took the stand for the first time and told the court that he grew up in an abusive home where his father assaulted his mother. Although he apologised for what happened to Rosaline, he remained adamant that he was not guilty.
Marneville also took the stand pleading for life imprisonment of the man who killed his daughter.
Booysen, who has a previous conviction of rape, was released in 2010 after serving about nine years of a 15 year sentence.
Yekiso made it clear that the crimes were very serious and that Booysen - who is related to Rosaline's mother - abused his role as a family member by luring her away from her friends, knowing that he would harm her.
"Although he asked the community's forgiveness, he showed no signs of remorse and is still adamant that he is not guilty," Yekiso said.
He added that he could therefore not deviate from the prescribed life sentence for rape and murder.
Knysna mayor Georlene Wolmarans was in the gallery on Friday said she and the community were satisfied with the sentence. "Today the judge sent out a very clear message that child rape and murder will not be tolerated in our communities," Wolmarans said.
