Newborn baby raped to death by her own dad, 37

A 37-year-old man’s horrific attack on his eight-day old baby will see him locked up for life. Warning: Graphic and disturbing

Warning: Contains graphic and disturbing information

A dad who horrifically raped his own baby daughter to death has been jailed for life after admitting he attacked the newborn because she would not stop crying.

Hugo Ferreira, 37, has just been given two life sentences at the High Court of South Africa in the country’s administrative capital after pleading guilty to the rape and murder of his eight-day old daughter in February 2023.

While Ferreira reportedly offered a “calculated admission of guilt” to the unspeakable crime, the child’s autopsy – which was detailed in court by Judge Portia Phahlane – revealed the baby’s suffering was “far worse” than he claimed.

Hugo Ferreira, 37, has been handed two life sentences for raping and murdering his eight-day-old baby girl. Picture: Supplied

The Pretoria court heard how Ferreira raped his daughter while his wife was out shopping for nappies because she would not stop crying, The Sun reports.

But when Maureen Brand returned later that day, she found her baby severely injured, and quickly rushed her to hospital.

Tragically, she died the following day due to head injuries.

Ferreira claimed that he sexually assaulted the baby because he had “decided to give her something to cry about”.

He then tried to hide the gravely injured newborn from her mother because “she would see that something was wrong”, adding that he knew his daughter was “seriously injured” but did not seek help.

“I grabbed the baby hard at the back of her neck and hit her buttocks repeatedly and pushed her head against the surface on which I was working,” he 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.”

He claimed that he sexually assaulted the baby because he had ‘decided to give her something to cry about’. Picture: Supplied

However, the judge found that Ferreira was “economical with the truth” when admitting to the crime, detailing the child’s extensive injuries uncovered during the post-mortem at the sentencing hearing.

The disturbing findings showed the little girl had endured a very short life of prolonged torture, deliberate cruelty, and a level of violence that went far beyond his self-serving account, News24 reports.

Judge Phahlane said the tiny victim’s body had a needle puncture in her left groin, which suggested “sadistic intent” as well as extensive bruising around her trachea, bleeding near the hyoid bone, and deep tissue injuries to her neck, face, and skull indicated repeated blunt-force trauma.

She then dismissed Ferreira’s claim that he merely pushed the baby’s head once, concluding instead that he had smashed it repeatedly against a hard surface.

The autopsy revealed the baby’s suffering was ‘far worse’ than the dad admitted. Picture: Supplied

Judge Phahlane also found his admission of sexual assault was a gross understatement as medical evidence proved the attack was more vicious than he had described.

The judge said in the ruling that there was no reason not to give the dad a life sentence, noting he had also casually informed a probation officer that he would murder his ex-wife, the mother of the child, if he were ever released.

“On count one of murder you will be sentenced to life imprisonment and on count two of rape you will be sentence to life imprisonment. There is no mitigation,” she said during sentencing.

Ferreira said he was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time, but was not influenced by the drug to the point of being unaccountable for his actions, solidifying that his crime was not one of “sudden rage but a premeditated act of unfathomable cruelty”.

Local media reports have also stated that Ferreira’s “complete lack of remorse chilled the courtroom”.

“As Judge Phahlane recited the litany of injuries inflicted upon the helpless newborn, Ferreira stood impassive, his expression blank, his eyes devoid of any flicker of humanity,” one journalist wrote.

“His detachment was so absolute that it bordered on indifference, reinforcing the psychiatric evaluation that diagnosed him with anti-social personality disorder — a condition marked by a chilling absence of empathy.”