CIVIL SERVANT ARRESTED FOR RAPE OF DAUGHTER (14)

PIGG’S PEAK – A civil servant has been arrested for allegedly raping his 14-year-old daughter multiple times in different forests and on a mountain.

The rape is said to have been accompanied by aggravating circumstances as the accused is alleged to have not used protection. *Julius (50) of Mabhidzi area under Chief Mvelase has been charged for contravening Section 3(1) as read with Section 3(3)(a) and 3(9)(b) of the Sexual Offence and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act 15/2018 in that upon or during the year 2021, and 2022 and at or near Mabhidzi area in the Hhohho Region in a forest near their homestead, he allegedly had sexual intercourse several times without protection, with one *Sihle, a liSwati female juvenile aged 14 years and did thereby contravene the said Act.   

Circumstances

The charge sheet highlights that the rape is accompanied by aggravating circumstances, as envisaged by Section 185 bis of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 67 of 1938 as amended in that the accused person inflicted physical and life-time mental trauma to the complainant and that the survivor was a minor aged 14 years, who is incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse. It is also reflected in the charge sheet that at the commission of the rape offence, the accused never used protection thereby putting the complainant at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and infections such as HIV.

It is also stated in the charge sheet that the accused is a blood relative of the complainant in that he is her father and has, therefore, betrayed the trust that should exist between them. It is also highlighted that upon conviction, the Crown will make an application to have the name of the accused included in the National Register for Sex Offenders, as provided for in terms of Section 56 of the SODV Act 15/2018. In the second count, Julius is alleged to have committed the same offence in the mountain. In the third count, he is accused of raping the minor in a forest known as Esidzikeni. In count four, Julius was charged with allegedly physically abusing Sihle by heavily assaulting her with a stick several times all over the body. The accused person was remanded in custody by Pigg’s Peak Magistrate Sakhele Hlophe until December 28, 2022, pending committal to the High Court.

In a similar incident, two months back, Pigg’s Peak police arrested another civil servant for allegedly having sexual intercourse with his biological daughter and impregnating her. He allegedly committed the offence from August to September 2021 in the Hhohho Region. He was charged for allegedly contravening the SODV Act  15/2018. He is alleged to have had unlawful sexual intercourse several times with his now 20-year-old daughter at his homestead. The civil servant appeared at the magistrates court where he was remanded in custody pending the setting of a trial date.

Bail

He filed an application for bail at the High Court, where he was represented by Lawyer Noncedo Ndlangamandla of Mabila Attorneys. In his bail application, he denied committing the offence. He claimed to be innocent of the charge and pointed out that he would plead not guilty during his trial. “I never committed the offence I am charged with. This is a fabrication by the complainant fuelled by my ex-wife,” he alleged. According to the accused, on October 4, 2021, he found certain text messages in his daughter’s cellphone where she was having conversations with his ex-wife. He alleged that his daughter and his ex-wife were discussing his current wife, who is the complainant’s stepmother. *Not real names

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