Durban - The Verulam child who was used as a sex slave by her stepfather is expected to reunite with her maternal family.
This was after her 45-year-old stepfather was found guilty of multiple counts of sexual crimes, including repeatedly raping the child over 18 months. The stepfather initially faced 56 counts. These were brought down to 36 after the defence disputed the duplication of charges during its closing arguments.
Of the 36 counts, the accused was found guilty of 33 counts by Judge Mohini Moodley in the Durban High Court on Friday. These include multiple counts of rape, sexual grooming of a child, using a child for pornography, possession and distribution of child pornography, human trafficking, child abuse and sexual exploitation.
He also forced the child to dress in adult lingerie, do household chores, smoke cannabis and perform indecent acts on herself and on him and others.
In her judgment, Judge Moodley found that the accused, who was not present during her ruling, was arrogant and narcissistic. He chose not to further participate in court proceedings after he lost his composure during cross-examination by senior State advocate, Cheryl Naidu.
After she analysed the evidence, that the accused provided during his brief time at the stand, Judge Moodley said: “The accused attempted to portray himself as an ingenuous victim. However, he was an inveterate liar. His arrogance and narcissism were evident in his responses in court as well as from his propensity to take photographs of himself.”
Judge Moodley found the accused to be intelligent, saying he was able to think on his feet and fabricate answers to further his version quickly. “Nevertheless, he did get caught up in the web of his lies because of his own inconsistencies and contradictions. His attempts to create sympathy for himself by shedding tears about neglecting his own child for the complainant failed dismally when he spat vitriol about the complainant's betrayal of him and that she had left him to rot in prison.”
She said this exposed the falsity and hypocrisy of his emotion-filled claims of how he considered only the interests of the victim, who he claimed was like his own child.
“There was no acknowledgement of his criminal and destructive conduct in respect of the complainant, while his aggressiveness and violent temper were clearly revealed in court.”
Judge Moodley found that the State had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. She went through what she deemed the most significant of the evidence as well as the court findings on such evidence. She evaluated several issues, which she dissected individually before providing her findings.
Judge Moodley looked at the ownership of the Huawei cellphone, voice notes, images, videos, the accused’s tattoos and scars, the sex toys found and the use of lingerie. She also looked at school attendance, forcing of household chores, smoking weed, the victim been taken to the hotel, and sexual acts done in front of Candace (the accused’s girlfriend).
On the issue of the Huawei cellphone, which had pornographic videos and pictures, Judge Moodley, based on evidence by the victim and other witnesses, found that the cellphone did, in fact, belong to the accused. The accused had denied that the cellphone belonged to him. He said it was the child’s property, alleging that he bought it for her after her tablet broke.
The State put forward that the adult male seen in the videos and images were, in fact, the accused. The child also put forward this evidence, which the accused denied. Judge Moodley, however, found the victim’s evidence to be sound and credible.
“She remained unshaken and unwavering. She remained steadfast in her evidence in chief. She even said in her evidence, 'If it is not him, then who is it?'. Given that the child was a minor, she would not have depicted herself in such a manner.”
Judge Moodley found that the child, in her evidence, was telling the truth and that it was too detailed and graphic to be a figment of her imagination. She said the accused's denials were false and she rejected his version of events.
Judge Moodley found inconsistencies and contradictions in his evidence. She also found that he had a temper and had become defensive. Judge Moodley dealt with the human trafficking charge last. She said the defence’s argument to drop the charge that the child was not harboured and kept against her will could not stand.
“The complainant was financially and socially dependent on the accused. She was isolated from her family and hence sought the company of adults. The State proved its case of trafficking.”
Following the judgment, the child's uncle said: “We now patiently await sentencing, but I pray he spends the rest of his miserable life in prison. He must rot in jail.”
He thanked Warrant Officer Nervarge Lutchminarain, the investigating officer, and Advocate Naidu.
“We are grateful for the tremendous and tireless efforts they have put into this case to get him convicted. The amount of work that went into proving the case was evident during the trial. We cannot thank them enough.”
The relative confirmed that social workers were working to reunite the child with her family. “We cannot say too much due to her safety, but social workers are busy with the paperwork and we are hoping to see her soon.”
Lutchminarain said: “I am especially pleased with the conviction of the human trafficking charge. People need to be educated on the law of human trafficking. It feels like the long hours and the countless sleepless nights, while gathering evidence against the accused, proved worthwhile. I thank advocate Naidu for her hard work and late nights, not forgetting Colonel A Maimela, from cybercrime, for his assistance with the downloads of evidence.”
He said survivors of rape and abuse must report the cases immediately to the police, so that crucial evidence was not lost and the perpetrators could be brought to justice.
The accused was arrested in 2018 at his home in Riet River after neighbours found out that he had been using the child as a sex slave. Sex toys, lingerie, a Huawei cellphone and other paraphernalia were found at the scene.
According to evidence in court, the accused took over custody of the child after her mother passed away. The rape began in 2017. The child was 10 at the time. Sentencing will take place in January. The accused will remain in custody until then.
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