Online Reporter
Lesley Chikudo, [email protected]
A 24-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo man who raped his 18-year-old mentally ill cousin before attempting to bribe the victim with promises of a phone and US$1, has been sentenced to an effective 15 years in jail.
The man, from Upper Rangemore, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, was convicted on his own plea of guilty to rape by Western Commonage magistrate, Mrs Sibongile Marondedze.
In passing sentence, Mrs Marondedze said there was a betrayal of trust .
“It was the accused’s duty to protect his cousin but instead he took advantage of her condition to rape her,” she said.
Mrs Marondedze said the court also took into account the trauma experienced by the victim, who now suffers from severe headaches and stomach pains.
“The offender is a danger to the community and himself. There is a need for deterrence sentence to
protect the girl child,” said Mrs Marondedze.
The prosecutor, Ms Christine Manyika, said sometime in December last year the complainant’s mother left her and her siblings at home.
The accused then went to the complainant’s family house under the pretext of needing a piece of burning wood to light a cigarette. Once outside the house, he led the victim to a nearby bush where he forced her to remove her clothes and raped her. After the assault, he tried to bribe the victim with promises of a phone and US$1.
