adminSamuel Kadungure Senior Reporter
A RUSAPE centurion (100) who confessed to raping a victim young enough to be his third generation granddaughter had his advanced age to thank after escaping jail with a wholly suspended sentence.
Solomon Masera aged 100 years of Village 12, Romsely in Chief Chiduku’s area, was recently convicted on his own plea of guilty to deflowering the victim, a 13-year-old girl.
He was slapped with five years in jail which was wholly suspended.
In suspending the custodial sentence, regional magistrate, Mr Livingstone Chipadza, said sending him to “prison was as good as signing his death warrant” given his advanced age.
In mitigation, Masera told the court that the girl had sexually provoked him.
He claimed that she sat on his legs as the two ate water melons under a tree.
Masera said he had not slept with a woman since the death of his wife “a very long time ago”.
It was the State case led by Rusape area prosecutor Mr Tirivanhu Mutyasira that Masera sexually abused the complainant on June 14, 2015.
Masera approached the minor who was herding cattle adjacent her parents’ field and asked for water melons.
“The minor went to her parents’ field and took two water melons, and gave him one. The two sat under a tree to eat the water melons. After they had finished Masera pushed the girl to the ground and raped her once,” Mr Mutyasira said.
The centurion was caught in the act by another villager, Fanwell Mopani.
Fanwell ran to report the incident to the girl’s grandmother.
At around 5pm, the granny interrogated the minor who confessed the sexual abuse. The granny reported the matter to police leading to Masera’s arrest.
Online Reporter