News / National
Man (41) gets 20yrs in jail for raping stepdaughter( 8)
15 Aug 2013 at 07:58hrs | Views
A 41-YEAR-OLD man from Kwekwe has been thrown behind bars for 20 years after being convicted of raping and infecting his eight-year-old stepdaughter with a sexually transmitted disease.
The man, whose name cannot be published to protect the victim, had pleaded not guilty to rape and deliberate infection when he appeared before Gokwe-Kwekwe regional magistrate Mr Amos Mbobo.
He was, however, convicted after a full trial and sent to jail for an effective 20 years. The State proved that sometime in April this year, on a date unknown to the State, the girl visited her mother who was married to the man at a resettlement area on the outskirts of Kwekwe.
On the day in question, the girl's mother left home to fetch water from a nearby river leaving her in the custody of her husband.
The court heard that the man dragged the little girl into his bedroom where he forcibly undressed her before raping her.
He threatened the girl with death if she reported the matter to anyone. However, the offence came to light when the girl's maternal grandmother noticed that she had difficulties in walking.
She later discovered that the girl had contracted a sexually transmitted disease prompting her to disclose the offence.
A report was subsequently made to the police leading to the man's arrest. Mr Robert Ndlala appeared for the State.
The man, whose name cannot be published to protect the victim, had pleaded not guilty to rape and deliberate infection when he appeared before Gokwe-Kwekwe regional magistrate Mr Amos Mbobo.
He was, however, convicted after a full trial and sent to jail for an effective 20 years. The State proved that sometime in April this year, on a date unknown to the State, the girl visited her mother who was married to the man at a resettlement area on the outskirts of Kwekwe.
On the day in question, the girl's mother left home to fetch water from a nearby river leaving her in the custody of her husband.
He threatened the girl with death if she reported the matter to anyone. However, the offence came to light when the girl's maternal grandmother noticed that she had difficulties in walking.
She later discovered that the girl had contracted a sexually transmitted disease prompting her to disclose the offence.
A report was subsequently made to the police leading to the man's arrest. Mr Robert Ndlala appeared for the State.
Source - Herald
