A sick South African father who admitted to murdering his one-week-old baby daughter after he violently raped her has been given two life sentences.
Hugo Ferreira, 37, subjected his baby daughter to vile abuse and rape to 'give her something to cry about' after she was left alone with him on June 8, 2023.
When the baby's mother returned later that day she found her daughter after severely injured after being assaulted physically and sexually. The infant was taken to hospital where she died the following day due to head injuries.
Judge Portia Phahlane, describing the horrific crime committed by Ferreira as 'brutal, ruthless and monstrous', this morning at Gauteng Crown Court ordered that he be locked up for life and said there was no reason to deviate from the maximum sentence after he admitted to raping and murdering the infant.
She told Ferreira: 'On Count 1 of murder you will be sentenced to life imprisonment and on Count 2 of rape you will be sentence to life imprisonment. There is no mitigation.'
Ferreira in his plea exclamation said he knew that his actions were wrong and that his daughter could die, but continued to attack the infant despite this.
He admitted being under the influence of methamphetamine, but said the drugs did not influence him to the point where he was not accountable for his actions.
Ferreira was put on the sex offenders list and taken to a hell hole jail where he may need to be held in solitary confinement for his safety to begin his life sentence.
Ferreira raped his daughter while his wife was out shopping for nappies because she would not stop crying while alone with him in June 2023 in Welverdiend, west of Johannesburg, the court heard earlier.
The baby's mother Maureen Brand returned later that day and found her baby severely injured after being raped by the evil father who had also attacked it.
The infant was rushed to hospital, where she died the following day due to head injuries suffered in the brutal assault. Police then arrested Ferreira.
The court was told he raped the baby to give his daughter 'something to cry about' saying in his plea that he was 'unhappy' because Brand had left her with him and had said she would be back in 'five minutes'.
But when Brand didn't return, and the baby girl began to cry because she was hungry and needed her nappy changed, Ferreira became angry and unleashed his horrific attack on the infant.
He told the court: 'I grabbed the baby hard at the back of her neck and hit her buttocks repeatedly and pushed her had against the surface on which I was working.
'I accept that it was a cruel and gruesome attack, especially on such a young baby. The action was clearly illegal and I did it with intent.'
He then said that he decided to rape because he had 'decided to give her something to cry about' and said he feared Brand finding out he had attacked the baby.
He added: 'When her mother returned, I realised she would see that something was wrong.
'I kept the baby away from her until later the day. I did this because I realised the baby was seriously injured.'
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