Hugo Ferreira
Content warning… this post is about the death abuse and rape of a baby, it contains some graphic information so reader discretion is advised.
Hugo Ferreira, 37 from South Africa, was sentenced to two life sentences on two counts, one of murder and one of rape and put on the sex offender’s register. Why? Because while high on meth Ferreira couldn’t get his 8 day old daughter to stop crying, so instead of trying to soothe her in some way he decided to quote “Give her something to cry about,”
Ferreira went on to rape and beat his innocent baby daughter until she eventually succumbed from the injuries. Even worse, in his plea exclamation Ferreira said that he knew the devastation that his actions could cause, but he carried on anyway. This all happened June 8th, 2023
You might be wondering where the baby’s mum, Maureen Brand, was. The answer is she went out to buy nappies but didn’t return quickly enough for Ferreira and the baby began to cry because she needed her nappy changed and a bottle. His reaction to this was to grab the baby hard at the back of her neck to hit her buttocks repeatedly, then pushed her head into the surface he was working on. This is when he decided to rape her to “give her something to cry about”
When the baby’s mother arrived back home he kept her away from the baby, realising that he had seriously injured the baby but eventually he realised he couldn’t hide what he had done any longer. Maureen rushed her to hospital, but the baby girl tragically passed away on June 9th, 2023 from head injuries she sustained in the beating she took from her own father.
Ferreira told the court: “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.”
Judge Portia Phahlane described the crime as “brutal, ruthless and monstrous” before she handed down those life sentences. Life sentences in South Africa are an indeterminate length and can last the remainder of the offenders’ life. Life sentences are mandatory not just for murder, but for rape too, including where the victim is under 16 years of age.
He was immediately returned to jail to begin serving out his service and will likely have to be held in solitary confinement as his safety cannot be guaranteed in the general population of the prison.
