Justice for 13-year-old girl as HIV-positive father gets life sentence for defiling her

• A South African court sentenced an HIV-positive father to life imprisonment for raping his 13-year-old daughter without using a condom.

• He was also convicted of attempted murder because he knowingly exposed the child to HIV during the assault.

• The court banned him from owning firearms, working with children and placed him on the country's National Register for Sex Offenders.

• In an emotional statement, the victim said she never expected such abuse from her own father and told him, "Daddy, I hope you enjoy prison life."

A South African court has sentenced a 41-year-old HIV-positive man to life imprisonment after he admitted to raping his 13-year-old biological daughter without using a condom, despite knowing he could infect her with HIV.

The Vredenburg Regional Court in South Africa's Western Cape Province found the man guilty on two counts of rape and one count of attempted murder after he entered into a plea and sentence agreement with prosecutors.

The court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the first rape charge, 35 years for the second rape charge and 25 years for attempted murder. However, the sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve life in prison.

READ ALSO: Man spends 28 years trekking from Chile to England after marriage breakdown, finally returns home to emotional welcome

According to South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the attempted murder conviction was based on the fact that the man knowingly had unprotected sex with the child despite being HIV-positive and understanding the risk of transmitting the virus.

The court also declared him unfit to own a firearm, barred him from working with children and ordered that his details be added to South Africa's National Register for Sex Offenders.

Court documents showed that the victim had lived with her father since she was four years old after he separated from her mother.

The man admitted that on May 23, 2025, his partner showed him pornographic content allegedly found on the girl's phone, which made him angry.

He then told his daughter to pack her belongings, claiming he was taking her to her mother's house. Instead, he drove her to a secluded area behind a beach in Paternoster.

There, he ordered the 13-year-old to lie on the ground before removing her trousers and underwear and raping her. After the assault, he drove her back home.

The NPA said the father admitted he knew he was HIV-positive and deliberately failed to use a condom during the attack. He also accepted that he understood he could infect his daughter with HIV, forming the basis of the attempted murder charge.

During sentencing, Regional Court Prosecutor Chandre Minaar urged the court to consider the child's age, vulnerability and the betrayal of trust involved.

READ ALSO: Popular car dealer loses almost ₦1bn as fire destroys workshop with 21 exotic cars, says there was no water

She argued that the accused was the very person responsible for protecting the girl but instead subjected her to horrific abuse.

Minaar also stressed that by raping his daughter without protection while knowing his HIV status, the man showed complete disregard for her health, dignity and life.

In a heartbreaking victim impact statement prepared with the help of Court Preparation Officer Deonett Boltney, the teenager spoke about the emotional pain she now carries.

"What happened made me feel sad. I was very angry because how could my own father want to do this to me? I did not expect this from him. He disappointed me a lot, but despite this, he remains my father, and I still love him very much," she said.

She also addressed her father directly.

"Daddy, I hope you enjoy prison life. I don't really know what it is like to grow up without a father, which is why I feel sorry for my little sister and brother, but it is your own fault, because how could you."

Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Adrian Mopp, welcomed the sentence, describing violence against women and children as a serious problem in South Africa.

"This matter must be considered against this broader social context, particularly because the victim was a minor subjected to sexual abuse by a person who was both her biological father and someone from whom she was entitled to expect protection."

The NPA said it remains committed to ensuring that perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence, especially those who abuse children and positions of trust, are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.