Man admits loving minor

Fairness Moyana
A BINGA magistrate has bemoaned the increase in sexual offences in the district, arguing that more needs to be done to protect the girl child and deter sex predators by imposing heavy sentences.
Passing his judgment last Friday in the trial of Saviour Mwinde (31) of Saba in Binga, who was facing charges of sleeping with a Grade Seven pupil, Binga resident magistrate Mr Stephen Ndlovu said society’s moral fabric was slowly being eaten away by the scourge.

Mwinde, who works at a mine in Kwekwe, was lucky to have escaped with a 12-month sentence. He admitted to the offence and pledged to look after the child after the 15-year-old juvenile fell pregnant.

“The increase in sexual crimes in the district is a cause for concern as the moral fabric is being eaten away.
“More needs to be done to protect the girl child who is always the victim of sex predators and the courts will not tolerate such a trend, hence a harsher sentence should serve as a warning to like-minded people,” Mr Ndlovu said.

According to the State led by Mr Bruce Maphosa, on a date unknown to the prosecutor but between January and March 2014, Mwinde proposed love to the minor and she agreed.

The two had sexual intercourse on several occasions until it was discovered that she had fallen pregnant after her mother forced her to take a pregnancy test. She reported the matter to the police leading to Mwinde’s arrest.

Mwinde shocked the courts when he admitted to knowing that the complainant was below the age of 16 and a Grade Seven pupil, but said he was blinded by love. He, however, prayed that the courts be lenient with him as he was prepared to look after his child.

“Your honour, I was aware of complainant’s age and that she was doing Grade Seven.
“It’s just that I was in love such that it did not immediately occur to me that it was a crime to sleep with an under-aged person. I pray this court to be lenient with me so that I can be able to look after my baby when it is born,” said a remorseful Mwinde.

In passing the sentence, the magistrate took into account that Mwinde did not waste the court’s time and that he was willing to look after the child, before suspending four months of his 12 months jail term.

Meanwhile, in a similar case, a 17-year-old juvenile from Lusulu in Binga is set to receive two strokes after he was found guilty of having sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old Form One pupil and impregnating her.

The court heard that sometime in May the accused, who is a Grade Seven dropout, proposed love to the girl and the two started having a love affair. Between May and July, he would take her to his place where they would have sexual intercourse until she fell pregnant leading to his arrest.