Online Reporter
Ronald Mpofu, [email protected]
A 31-year-old man from Dombodema in Bulilima District has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping and impregnating his 15-year-old niece after sneaking into her room through the window.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the victim’s identity, was on Monday convicted of rape by Plumtree regional magistrate Mrs Dambudzo Malunga.
Prosecuting, Mr Selestino Madziva told the court that sometime in January, the man approached the complainant claiming that he wanted to teach her a skill, although he did not specify what he intended to teach her.
The court heard that on that particular day, the complainant went to bed with her sibling.
“Later at around 10PM, the accused entered the complainant’s bedroom through a window. He woke her by shining a torch on her face. The complainant was startled and attempted to scream, but the accused strangled the girl to prevent her from making any noise before raping her,” said Mr Madziva.
After committing the offence, the man is alleged to have threatened to take his own life if the juvenile reported the offence.
The abuse later came to light after it was discovered that the complainant had fallen pregnant leading to investigations and subsequent arrest of the accused.
