The Pietermaritzburg High Court has dismissed an appeal on the sentence of a man who claimed he apologised for raping a minor child.
The Pietermaritzburg High Court has dismissed an appeal by a man seeking to overturn a life sentence for raping his cousin’s five-year-old child on Christmas Day in 2019.
Despite his argument that his apology and guilty plea warranted a lesser sentence, the court upheld the initial ruling.
Challenging the life sentence imposed by the Scottburgh Regional Court, the man argued that the punishment was harsh.
He maintained that his decision to plead guilty was a significant mitigating factor, as it protected the young victim from the ordeal of testifying and recounting the assault in court.
