By Amah
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A 37-year old father, Hugo Ferreira, has bagged double life jail term after he was convicted by a Pretoria High Court in South Africa for raping and murdering his eight day old daughter，Caithlyn Ferreira.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, the convict was living together with the mother of the child in Welverdiend, Carletonville. The mother was a cloth dealer.
However, June 8, 2023, the mother had left home to sell her clothes and to buy nappies for her little baby and instructed her husband to take care of the little child. The convict reportedly instructed her not to stay long since the baby was still breastfeeding.
While she delayed in coming back on time, the convict became enraged assaulted, and raped the infant by using his fingers to penetrate her vagina and rubbed his private parts against hers with the intention to make her cry.
The NPA stated in a statement that upon the mother’s return, the convict initially refused to hand the baby over to her to conceal the injury he had causef her, prompting the mother to call the police on him.
On arrival of the police, the infant’s injuries were revealed, as he handed her over to them. He was arrested immediately while the baby was rushed to the hospital, but died the following day.
Ferreira was charged to court and he pleaded guilty to the charges of rape and murder, telling the court that his actions were caused by his anger toward the mother.
Though Ferreira attempted to convince the court not to sentence him to life imprisonment, claiming he cooperated with the court by admitting his guilt thereby not wasting the time of the court, his claim was, however, opposed by the prosecutor Advocate Andre Wilsenach, who urged the court to sentence him to life imprisonment.
According to the prosecutor, the convict’s actions were heinous, which he committed against his own defenceless 8-day-old baby to spite the mother for her delay.
The prosecutor noted that as a father, instead of protecting his child, Ferreira chose to abuse and harm her.
Wilsenach brought the attention of the court to Ferreira’s criminal records, having been convicted five times in the past for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The court presided by Judge Portia Phahlane agreed with the argument of the prosecution, stating that the convict did not show remorse and imposed life sentence on him.
