A 47 year old pastor has been sentenced to two life imprisonment for the rape of a 12-year-old girl in the Edenburg Regional Court in the Free State.

Police Spokesperson, Martin Xuma, says the victim was staying with the accused when the rape incidents happened. He says the pastor was raping the victim in the absentia of his wife who worked night shifts.

Xuma says the rape incidents started in 2019 and during the school holidays of the year 2022.

The victim reported the matter to the father who alerted the police.

The accused was sentenced to double life imprisonment for two counts of rape and further five years for sexual assault.

He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.