Online Reporter
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu [email protected]
A 59-YEAR-OLD security guard from Gwanda has been sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison for raping his neighbour’s three-year-old daughter. Wilson Ndlovu was convicted of rape by Gwanda regional magistrate Mrs Sithembiso Ndebele.
In delivering sentence, the magistrate noted the significant age difference between the accused and the victim, describing it as an aggravating factor.
“The accused is a neighbour to the complainant and old enough to be her grandfather. He was expected to protect her, but instead took advantage of her vulnerability,” said Mrs Ndebele.
She said Ndlovu abused the trust placed in him when the child and her peers visited his cabin to play.
The court heard that on December 11 last year, at around 10AM, Ndlovu lured the minor from a group of children playing at a mining compound in West Nicholson to his cabin, where he sexually assaulted her.
The child was later found after her mother raised alarm when she went missing. A relative who joined the search traced her to the accused’s cabin after being informed by other children that she had been taken there.
Prosecuting, Mr Ngonidzashe Shumba told the court that the relative entered the cabin and found the accused and the child lying on a bed.
He observed that the accused’s belt was loosened while the child’s pair of trousers had been pulled down to knee level.
When confronted, the accused failed to give an explanation and instead covered himself with a blanket.
The matter was reported to police, leading to Ndlovu’s arrest and subsequent conviction.
