Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura, Court Reporter
A 15-year-old Bulawayo teenager has appeared in court for allegedly raping his then seven-year-old neighbour three years ago.
The teenager (name withheld for professional reasons) stays in Mpopoma suburb and appeared before Western Commonage regional magistrate Mrs Sibongile Marondedze, facing rape charges.
He was remanded in custody to September 24, for trial.
Prosecuting, Ms Christina Manyika, told the court that the incident occurred sometime in 2022, although the exact date was unknown to the prosecutor.
The juvenile was sleeping inside her grandmother’s co-tenant room when the accused person came inside the room.
While inside the room, the accused woke up the complainant and threatened to assault her if she made any noise.
The complainant remained silent, and the accused person immediately stripped her of her shorts and pant at the same time, said Ms Manyika.
The court heard that the boy then forced the complainant to lie on the bed facing upwards and had sex with her once without protection.
After the act, he threatened to assault the complainant if she ever revealed the matter to anyone.
He then dressed up and left the room, and the complainant also wore her clothes and did not reveal the matter to anyone.
The matter came to light in March this year when the complainant’s mother noticed that the complainant had developed some bruises on her vagina and was also passing discharge.
The complainant’s mother took her to the clinic to be physically examined. When she arrived, the complainant was asked by the nurse, and that’s when she told the nurse that a boy named Samuel, who resides in Bulawayo, had sexually abused her while they were still residing in Bulawayo.
The complainant was referred for medical examination by a doctor, who discovered that her hymen lining had been tampered with.
A police report was made, leading to the accused person’s arrest.
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