13/08/2025
FATHER ACCUSED OF RA**NG AND IMPREGNATING DAUGHTER DENIED BAIL
The Tsakani Magistrates’ Court has denied bail to a 39-year-old father from Lindelani, Benoni, charged with the r**e of his daughter, who was 15 at the time of the alleged incidents. The bail decision was made today, 12 August 2025, following his initial court appearance on 08 August 2025. The alleged abuse began in March 2022 while the victim lived with her parents and younger brother in Tsakani. On the day of the first incident, the mother was at church, leaving the victim with her father and brother. It is alleged that the father called the victim into the house while playing outside and sent her brother to buy chips from the shops. When the victim got inside the house she found the father in her room, when she went to enquire why he called her. The father allegedly locked the door behind her, undressed both himself and the victim, r**ed her, and left her in her room.
Upon returning, the mother found the victim crying on her bed, when she asked what was wrong, the victim disclosed about what had happened. However, the mother did not believe her. After the first incident it is alleged that a second incident allegedly happened however, the mother still did not believe victim until she stopped telling her about the r**e incidents that continued to happen when the mother was not around.
A while later, the victim fell ill, and the mother took her to Pholosong hospital where it was confirmed that the child was pregnant. On an unspecified date, the mother brought a mixture of concoction and told the child to drink in an attempt to abort her baby, which failed. The parents then moved the victim to Limpopo to live with her paternal grandmother, where she gave birth to a boy in December 2022. After turning 18, the victim opened a case in Limpopo on 07 July 2025, resulting in the father’s arrest on 19 July 2025.
In court, the father sought R1,000 bail, citing his role as the pribail, citing his role as the primary caregiver for his three children aged 1, 12, and 18 since his unemployed wife cannot support them. Prosecutor Sindi Leonora Sejake called Investigating Officer Sgt. Tebogo Lephoto, who opposed the accused release on bail because the state had a strong case against the accused since DNA evidence revealed that the accused is indeed the father of the victims 3-year-old child. Furthermore, the investigating officer testified that that accused is likely to interfere with witnesses since he went to Limpopo from Gauteng in attempt to confront the child after he realised that the child had opened a case against him and was speaking about the matter on social media.
Magistrate Tebogo Lekgau denied bail, noting the severity of the charge and the likelihood of a life sentence if convicted. She emphasized the strong state case, the accused’s potential to evade trial, and the community outcry that prompted the family’s relocation. Moreover, the magistrate said the vulnerable child was failed by her father as he repeatedly r**ed her, while her mother also failed to protect her by refusing to believe her in the name of protecting her marriage. Therefore, the court found that the accused failed to convince the court that it was in the interest of justice to release him on bail.
The case was postponed to 28 August 2025 for a regional court decision.
