Cop's husband detains girl, rapes her for 2 weeks

A BULAWAYO man has been jailed for 20 years after taking advantage of a teenager who had run away from home, by detaining her at his home and rape her for over two weeks.

Gift Sikhosana (38), a father of six who is married to a police officer, was convicted and sentenced by Gwanda regional magistrate Joseph Mabeza on Tuesday, despite pleading not guilty to two rape charges.

The court dismissed his explanation that the 14 year old girl was his lover and that he was not aware she was under-age.

Magistrate Mabeza sentenced him to 10 years for each count and said he considered that Sikhosana had assaulted the girl with an electrical cord to force her to have sex with him during the time he kept her at his Gwanda homestead.

The court heard the minor was desperate after fleeing from home, fearing her mother would beat her up after losing a cellphone.

Sikhosana found the girl on the streets and offered her accommodation, but turned her into a sex slave.

The court heard he wore a condom when the girl was on her menstrual period and raped her after whipping her into submission.

On the other occasion, he raped the girl without protection.

Although Sikhosana allegedly raped the juvenile more than twice, only two counts could be proved in court.

Sikhosana found the girl in Spitzkop suburb in Gwanda in October and promised to keep her at his homestead until he found money to give her so she could travel to her grandmother in Masvingo.

He allegedly raped her overnight and took her to Bulawayo to a roomed house in Sizinda where he continued abusing her.

He allegedly threatened to kill her if she tried to escape or talked to neighbours.

The girl's uncle managed to trace her whereabouts leading to Sikhosana's arrest.

Mabeza said Sikhosana was lucky he was a breadwinner that is why he got a "lenient "sentence.

He said rape was a barbaric crime that humiliated and destroyed victims in ways that could never be fully explained.

He said the sentence had to be deterrent enough to send a message to would be offenders that rape would not be tolerated by society.

The magistrate said Sikhosana committed the "despicable" crime in aggravated circumstances on a defenceless child who looked up to him for protection.