Bloemfontein - The Frankfort Regional Court in the Free State has sentenced a 32-year-old man to life behind bars for raping his ten-year-old stepdaughter.
In a statement, police spokesperson Sergeant Sinah Mpakane said the incident happened on July 14, 2017, when the victim was at home with her younger brother who had fallen asleep while watching television.
"The accused started a conversation asking the victim if she knows how babies are made, she replied and said she does not know. A few minutes later he called the victim into his bedroom where he undressed himself and the victim and started to rape her."
The child told her mother when she arrived home the following day and she reported the rape to police.
In another incident, Mpakane said a 33-year-old man from Botshabelo was sentenced to life behind bars earlier this month for raping his six-year-old daughter.
"During September 2016, a neighbour in Section F, Botshabelo, noticed that a six-year-old girl was walking awkwardly. She asked her why but the little girl did not answer. The concerned neighbour informed the child's aunt as the little girl was staying with her father after her mother passed on a few months back."
The child was hospitalised and the father arrested. The child is now staying with relatives who live outside the Free State.