A Kempton Park couple was convicted of sexually assaulting their biological children. The children’s identities have been protected by withholding their parents’ names.
The couple sexually assaulted their three children for three years. The children were all under the age of ten when the abuse began.
Phindi Mjonondwane, a spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Gauteng, said that the two were sentenced in the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg, on Monday.
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According to the NPA, they were charged with 17 counts of rape, four counts of conspiracy to commit a sexual offense, and four counts of aiding and abetting another person to commit a sexual offense.
Three counts of compelled rape, two counts of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, four counts of sexual grooming of children, four counts of compelling or causing children to witness sexual offenses, two counts of exposure or display of or causing exposure of children pornography, and four counts of sexual assault.
During proceedings, the court heard how the couple would blindfold one of the children and rape her with the others in the room. The couple would also insert their fingers and toys into the children’s genitals and make them watch pornographic material.
They further threatened to kill the children if they ever told people about the abuse. One of the children was further raped by her grandfather. One of the incidents was witnessed by the child’s grandmother who confronted the man.
Mjonondwane said the years of abuse were eventually made public when the grandmother took the children to a doctor after they displayed sexual behavior toward each other.
When the children were removed from their parent’s care and placed with family members, they were caught touching each other and admitted that they had learned this behavior from their parents.
Months later, the youngsters informed their families of the abuse, prompting the intervention of a social worker and the filing of a police case. The parents were arrested in February 2022.
The mother and father pled not guilty to all charges and accused a relative of pressuring the children to lie about the abuse. They also stated that relatives wanted to adopt the youngsters.
In court, Senior State Advocate Rolene Barnard asked for a heavier punishment, claiming that the abuse deprived the children of their innocence.
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