• A 39-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years in jail after he was found guilty of raping his daughter.
• When the teenager fell pregnant, her aunt took her to the clinic, who referred them to the police.
• Before the trial could begin, the victim tragically died in a shack fire.

The Port Elizabeth High Court has sentenced a 39-year-old man to 25 years in prison after he was found guilty of raping his daughter three times until she fell pregnant.

The man raped his daughter, who was 13 at the time, at their house in Nkata Street in Kwazakele, police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said.

Naidu said that, in October 2018, the teenager fell pregnant. Her aunt then took her to the clinic, who referred them to the police.

A rape case was opened and the girl had an abortion.

The man was arrested in November 2018 by the Motherwell Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit - and he remained in custody until the finalisation of the case.

However, before the trial could begin, the victim tragically died in a shack fire at her house.

Naidu told News24 that the girl was alone at their Kwazakele house when the house caught fire.

On Wednesday, the man was handed 25 years imprisonment for each of the rape charges.

"The cases will run concurrent with each other, so effectively he will serve 25 years in prison," said Naidu.

The provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga, reiterated that it is time for women to take a stand against sexual harassment, rape and domestic violence in society.

"It is sad when the perpetrators are the very same people that are entrusted to care and protect their own," he said.