The man accused of raping his stepdaughter 900 times over a five year period in South Africa was denied bail at the Verulam Family Court on Friday.

Magistrate Irfaan Khalil said, "I'm not satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances present for the applicant to be released on bail. There's a likelihood he will evade his trial and intimidate the child if he is released."

The accused faces charges of rape, sexual grooming of children, sexual assault, and exposure or display of or causing exposure or display of child pornography or pornography to children.

He also faces charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, compelling or causing children to witness sexual acts and child abuse or deliberate neglect of a child.

Verulam residents and security guards allegedly assaulted him on June 11, after it was alleged that he had raped the little girl since her mother's death five years ago.

Khalil postponed the matter to August 23 for further investigation. He will remain in custody at the Westville Prison.

He will appear via a video feed from the prison in his next court appearance and Khalil said the violent nature of child abuse cases was a serious national concern.

He said it was highly possible that if the accused was released on bail, he would undermine public peace and security.

He said he took into consideration the nature of the offences that the accused faced, the breach of trust between the child and the accused and the petition signed by 129 members of the public.

He said it was also likely that the accused might "abscond" his trial because he was aware of the lengthy sentence he might get if found guilty.

"He has already issued threats while in jail. It is highly probable that he might intimidate the child when released on bail," he said.

President Roshnee Govender said they were "overjoyed because they got justice" on Friday.