A Paradise Beach father who headed a household allegedly tainted by incest, rape and constant exposure to pornography, has instead painted a picture of a happy, loving home.
When the accused finally took to the stand in the Gqeberha high court on Friday, his version of events was so riddled with contradictions that even the judge interjected to seek clarity.
The accused, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the complainants, including his own daughter, faces charges of rape, sexual assault and hundreds more related to the production and distribution of child pornography.
He has pleaded not guilty despite his life partner and her son — referred to as his stepson — testifying against him.
In the Gqeberha high court on Friday, the 56-year-old said their happy family started to suffer when his common-law wife cheated on him, and her son grew up into an “aggressive and troubled” teen.
He went as far as to label his stepson “the prince of darkness”.
The father said his arrest in September 2022 took him by surprise.
However, his long-winded explanation, given contrary to his attorney’s instructions, led judge Nyameko Gqamana to question parts of his testimony.
The man is alleged to have groomed his stepson and his own daughter from the ages of eight and six, respectively, by exposing them to pornography.
It is further alleged that he later instructed them to perform sexual acts with one another while he filmed them.
He is also accused of sexually assaulting his daughter.
The accused faces an additional charge of bestiality.
His partner and stepson were also arrested and have since pleaded guilty to their respective charges.
The mother received a three-year suspended sentence for not reporting the alleged sexual offences to the police, as well as defeating the ends of justice when she warned her partner of an impending search of their home.
Her son is, meanwhile, serving a 20-year jail term for raping his half-sister, among other charges.
According to the accused, his partner moved in with him and they went on to have a daughter together.
Her son initially lived with his grandparents but moved in with them at the age of six.
The accused’s testimony portrayed a happy family unit — a far cry from the evidence already led about the alleged “house of horrors”.
He described himself as a doting father who helped his children with their homework, all the while working a full-time job installing security systems for a private firm.
In addition, he ran a popular Facebook community page through which he derived a second income from advertisers.
Asked about the charges of sexual abuse of his daughter, he said the allegations had come as a complete shock because nothing of the sort had happened.
Instead, he said, she regularly came to him for help with her schoolwork and her teachers had complimented her on her progress.
However, during his testimony earlier in the day, he said the girl was in a special needs class and was later expelled.
It was allegedly discovered that she was abusing drugs.
The accused claimed he was the “softer” parent.
In sharp contrast, he also described himself as very strict.
Gqamana then interrupted his testimony and asked him to clarify his statements.
The accused went on to deny that pornography was constantly displayed on his computer in full view of his family.
In fact, he said, he only ever used the computer to manage the Facebook page.
He said the page was difficult to manage from a cellphone, so he gave his partner access as she was mostly at home and could assist while he was at work.
This version similarly changed when he said his partner spent most days working at a local charity shop while the children were at school.
He also denied teaching his youngest son, who was about 10 at the time, how to illegally obtain account details for pornographic websites.
Asked about the pornographic material allegedly found on his phone, he said he had received a call from a family member in Gqeberha who told him she had found nude pictures of his daughter on her son’s phone.
When the accused confronted his daughter about this, she was reluctant to talk about it, but he convinced her to send him the pictures.
The pictures were of the girl in the nude. There was also a video of a male masturbating.
He said he kept this as evidence.
Asked about his relationship with his stepson, he said it had deteriorated as the boy grew older and allegedly started doing drugs.
The boy would allegedly have regular violent outbursts, and the police were called on numerous occasions.
He said he noted a change in the relationship between his daughter and stepson in the days leading to her confiding in her aunt that she had been raped by her half-brother.
This came as “a complete shock” to the accused.
He said he sought advice from a prosecutor he knew, and his daughter allegedly chose not to report a case after being informed of the prosecutor’s advice.
Instead, his stepson was kicked out the house and they never spoke again.
He said his own arrest came as a surprise, but he immediately suspected his stepson was behind it.
The case was postponed to Monday for cross-examination.
The father remains in custody.
The Herald