News / National
Man rapes ex-girlfriend's daughter, gets 14 years
02 Sep 2016 at 06:41hrs | Views
A 35-YEAR-OLD man from Masvingo will spend the next 14 years in jail for raping his ex-girlfriend's 14-year-old daughter at knife point.
The man, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of the victim, went to the girl's homestead, took advantage of her mother's absence and raped her once at knife point before disappearing.
Appearing before Masvingo regional magistrate Mr Colet Ncube yesterday, the man from Marodzwa Village under chief Charumbira, pleaded not guilty to raping the Form One girl.
Mr Ncube, however, convicted him due to overwhelming evidence.
The rapist was jailed for 16 years and two years were suspended on condition of good behaviour.
Passing sentence, Mr Ncube said the man deserved a stiffer jail term for wasting the court's time by creating unbelievable stories to evade conviction.
"The fact that you wasted the court's time by creating stories that are unbelievable instead of telling the truth makes you a candidate for a deterrent sentence. You lied to the court that the girl's mother, whom you claimed to be your girlfriend, framed you. Your evidence was never corroborated by any of the three witnesses who testified," said Mr Ncube.
In mitigation, the man said his fate was decided by the girl's mother (45) who wanted to fix him for failing to continue providing for her daughter.
"The girl's mother had ditched me and wanted to fix me by lying that I raped her daughter as I could no longer pay the girl's school fees. I used to support her financially but due to economic hardships I had since stopped. It is unfortunate that only a few people knew about my relationship with the girl's mother and I cannot bring a witness," he said.
The man, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of the victim, went to the girl's homestead, took advantage of her mother's absence and raped her once at knife point before disappearing.
Appearing before Masvingo regional magistrate Mr Colet Ncube yesterday, the man from Marodzwa Village under chief Charumbira, pleaded not guilty to raping the Form One girl.
Mr Ncube, however, convicted him due to overwhelming evidence.
The rapist was jailed for 16 years and two years were suspended on condition of good behaviour.
Passing sentence, Mr Ncube said the man deserved a stiffer jail term for wasting the court's time by creating unbelievable stories to evade conviction.
"The fact that you wasted the court's time by creating stories that are unbelievable instead of telling the truth makes you a candidate for a deterrent sentence. You lied to the court that the girl's mother, whom you claimed to be your girlfriend, framed you. Your evidence was never corroborated by any of the three witnesses who testified," said Mr Ncube.
In mitigation, the man said his fate was decided by the girl's mother (45) who wanted to fix him for failing to continue providing for her daughter.
"The girl's mother had ditched me and wanted to fix me by lying that I raped her daughter as I could no longer pay the girl's school fees. I used to support her financially but due to economic hardships I had since stopped. It is unfortunate that only a few people knew about my relationship with the girl's mother and I cannot bring a witness," he said.
Source - chronicle
