Man (29) rapes 4-year-old girl for 12 months

A Pumula man, 29, allegedly turned a four-year-old girl into a sex slave, habitually raping her for 12 months.

Charles Moyo allegedly sexually abused the toddler who stays with him. He was not asked to plead and was remanded in custody to December 12.

Moyo appeared before Western Commonage provincial magistrate Willard Maphios Moyo facing rape charges.

Prosecuting, Mufaro Mageza said Moyo raped the child for a period extending from January to December 3.

"On a date unknown to the prosecutor between January and December 3, Moyo raped a four-year-old girl until he was caught red-handed by the girl's father," he said.

The court heard that on a date unknown to the prosecutor around 4PM, Moyo took the four-year-old girl into her father's bedroom and raped her.

The matter came to light on a separate day when the girl's father caught him smearing Vaseline petroleum jelly on the girl's private parts.

The girl revealed that Moyo had been raping her for a long time.

The father reported the matter to the police and the girl was referred to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), leading to Moyo's arrest.

He was not asked to plead but told the court that he did not commit the crime.