Outrage as Man Rapes, Murders His Newborn Daughter — Gets Life Sentence
The Pretoria High Court in South Africa sentenced Hugo Ferreira, aged 37 from Carletonville, to two life terms for the rape and murder of 8-days-old baby girl Caithlyn Ferreira.
In a statement released on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, the NPA accentuated that the conviction “reflected the seriousness of a father’s crimes against his child.”
“As the statement reads, Ferreira and the child’s mother, in a love relationship, had been living together in Welverdiend, Carletonville. On the 8th of June 2023, the mother left home to sell clothes for the purchase of nappies, leaving the infant under the care of Ferreira. Before leaving, Ferreira told the mother to be back in five minutes as the baby was breastfeeding.”
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When she failed to return on time and the baby began crying, Ferreira, enraged, assaulted, and raped the newborn. He used his fingers to violate her and rubbed his private parts against hers, later claiming he was “giving the baby a reason to cry.”
When the child’s mother returned, Ferreira hid the injured child initially and refused to surrender her. The mother then called the police. Ferreira was handing over the baby when among the presence of police, her injuries became apparent. The police arrested Ferreira, and the baby was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries the next day.
Ferreira pleaded guilty in court, admitting to having raped and murdered his daughter. He claimed to have acted out of anger towards her mother. In mitigation, he appealed to the court to deviate from imposing the mandated minimum sentence, saying that his guilty plea spared the court’s time and expressed remorse for his deeds.
The prosecutor Advocate Andre Wilsenach visibly opposed this and asked for a life term. He described Ferreira’s deeds as atrocious, done against his own defenceless 8-day-old daughter, to get back at the mother for being late.
Wilsenach stressed that Ferreira was the biological father, who indeed ought to have protected his child, not abused his position to harm her.
Advocate Wilsenach also highlighted Ferreira’s criminal history, which consists of five previous convictions, among them for assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, which point to Ferreira’s violent tendencies. He, therefore, prayed that the court do not — without a good excuse — depart from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence.
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However Judge Portia Pahlane turned Ferreira’s request for mercy down, agreeing with the submission of the State. She ruled that his guilty plea was based on the overwhelming evidence against him and not out of genuine remorse on his part and found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the minimum sentence.
“This sentence is welcomed by the NPA, which reflects the gravity of a father’s crimes against his child. This case reaffirms our commitment to combating gender-based violence and femicide, and ensuring perpetrators are dealt with as seriously as possible.”
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