Man sentenced to 28 months for bedding teenage neighbour

A Chitungwiza man has been sentenced to 28 months in prison for sleeping with his neighbour's 15-year-old daughter.

The 30-year-old man duped his sister-in-law into believing that the girl had eloped to him and that he was waiting to negotiate with her parents to marry her.

He denied two counts of rape before Chitungwiza regional magistrate Mr Clever Tsikwa.

Mr Tsikwa found him guilty to a verdict of sleeping with a person under the age of consent, set at 16 in Zimbabwe, after a full trial.

This was after the teenager gave contradicting statements that showed the act was consensual.

He was sentenced to 40 months in prison with 12 months set aside for five years.
In assessing the sentence, Mr Tsikwa took into account that the man's moral blameworthiness was high.

Again, Mr Tsikwa considered the age difference between the two, which was an aggravating factor.

Prosecutor Mr Lovet Muringwa proved that on November 2 last year, the accused took the girl to his sister-in-law's house nearby, lied that he and the girl had eloped and then had sexual relations with the girl in the kitchen. He did the same act at his other sister's house in the same neighbourhood.

The girl's mother reported to police that her daughter had been missing.

The offence came to light after the girl's mother received a call from some people informing her that she staying at the man's sister's house.