The father of six-year-old Steven Siebert who was sexually molested and killed at Christmas in 2005 has found it "difficult" to sit in court and hear what his son endured.
"But eventually you just go numb and you get used to it," Thomas Siebert said outside the Cape High Court on Tuesday.
Earlier, Theunis Olivier was convicted of the murder and kidnapping and indecent assault of young Steven.
The Siebert family, who live in Randburg, were on holiday in Plettenberg Bay in 2005 when the boy was murdered.
Steven was playing outside on December 23 when Olivier asked him to go to his house.
There he sodomised the boy and strangled him using a phone cord.
A pathologist told the court that Steven could have survived for two to three minutes.
Olivier hid the body in a cupboard while he showered and shaved, then dumped it in a bushy area next to his house.
Later, when was asked if he had seen Steven, he volunteered to help them search.
After his arrest, Olivier confessed to a magistrate.
In an open letter he also apologised to the Sieberts and said he had robbed Steven of his innocence, purity and right to life.
On Monday, Olivier pleaded guilty to the charges and "respectfully" asked the court to have mercy on him.
He admitted he kidnapped the boy and took him to his house, where he spent about 15 minutes sexually molesting him.
He told the court that he strangled the child so that he wouldn't identify him and testify against him in court.
Olivier's guilty plea came about two months after he had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He claimed that he suffered from a mental illness which had affected his ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.
Psychiatric evaluation found he was fit to stand trial.
State advocate Jan Theron said Olivier had no previous convictions.
As Judge Essa Moosa read his judgment on Tuesday, Olivier stood in the dock with his head bowed.
He closed his eyes and sighed while listening.
Judge Moosa said he was satisfied that all the elements of the charges had been proved and that Olivier was able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.
Olivier was convicted of all three charges.
After the verdict was delivered, Olivier sat down in the dock, hunched his shoulders and swallowed hard.
Now he wants to testify in mitigation of sentence.
Thomas Siebert, however, said this was unnecessary and accused Olivier of looking for sympathy.
"If he had any real remorse, he wouldn't testify," the bereft father added.
Immediately after court adjourned, Siebert contacted his wife to let her know the outcome of the case.
He was glad Olivier had been found guilty, saying it was what the family had been hoping for.