Teen jailed 10 years for raping sister

An 18-year-old Harare man, who raped his 12-year-old sister, was slapped with a 10-year jail term by a Harare magistrate.

The teenager raped his 12-year-old stepsister in the presence of her four-year-old nephew who was asleep.

The magistrate, Ms Lucy Mugwaru, sentenced the rapist to 10 years in prison.

Of the 10 years, four were suspended on condition of good behaviour and six were effected.

While passing sentence, Ms Mugwaru told the man that he had received a lighter sentence because he was still young, as the offence calls for a longer custodial sentence.

The State led by prosecutor Ms Chipo Matambo, proved its case against the teenager after a fully contested trial.

On December 4, at around 10pm, when people were already in bed, the accused went into his stepsister's bedroom, which was not locked.

The stepsister was in bed with her four-year-old nephew who was already asleep.

He tried to remove the complainant's clothes and found that she was still awake and she bit his left hand while protesting. The accused fondled the girl before removing his and her clothes in the process.

The teenager had backside sex with the juvenile once without her consent. The matter came to light the following day when the juvenile was quizzed by her mother to explain the white substance on her skirt that looked like semen.