The Mpumalanga High Court has upheld a life sentence for a man convicted of raping his seven-year-old stepdaughter in February 2018 at the family home in Mhala. The perpetrator, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, was the boyfriend of the girl's mother and was considered a father figure. On the day of the incident, the victim and her five-year-old sister returned home from school. The man undressed the girl and raped her, then gave her sister money to stand watch for their mother. After the assault, the victim saw blood from her vagina. The younger sister later told their mother about the rape and the bribe, but the mother initially did not report the crime after the man denied it and her boyfriend's brother advised against reporting, citing his role as the family's provider. The grandmother eventually learned of the incident and took the child for a medical evaluation, which confirmed genital bleeding.