The rape of young children was both horrendous and the scourge of society, a High Court judge said when sentencing two men, who had raped two little girls, aged six and seven, in Pietermaritzburg on Monday.
In both cases, Judge Kevin Swain found that there were circumstances that warranted a departure from the minimum life sentence prescribed for the rape of children younger than 16 years of age.
However, he said that people who raped children would face severe punishments.
He sentenced a 30-year-old man, who had raped his six-year-old niece in Pietermaritzburg seven years ago, to 27 years' imprisonment.
"If the accused is sentenced to undergo 27 years' imprisonment, with good behaviour, he will be eligible for parole after 18 years. If this is taken together with the four years he has already been in custody, he will serve a total of 22 years' imprisonment which, in all the circumstances, I think would be an appropriate punishment," the judge said.
The rape occurred in 1998, but was only discovered in 2004 when the child broke down and became hysterical in front of her teacher on learning that the man was returning to her family home. The girl's mother confirmed that she had invited her brother back home to carry out renovations at their home.
In the other case, Khulekani Dlamini, 25, pleaded guilty to raping a seven-year-old girl in Port Shepstone after having spent the day drinking alcohol. The father of two told the court that he was sorry for what had happened and that he had known that what he was doing was wrong, although he had been drinking.
Dlamini had no previous convictions.
Judge Swain said that although the consumption of alcohol did not excuse the "horrendous" crime, it was a factor to be considered as it had affected Dlamini's judgment.
He also took into account Dlamini's expression of remorse, before sentencing him to 18 years behind bars.