adminLeonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
A TEENAGER employed as a herdboy in Lupane raped his employer’s four-year-old daughter after promising to give her 10 cents.
Mpumelelo Moyo pleaded not guilty to rape when he appeared before Hwange regional magistrate Mrs Dambudzo Malunga on Friday but was convicted due to overwhelming evidence.
The little girl is an Early Childhood Development B pupil.
In May, the girl’s mother arrived home early from St Luke’s Hospital where she works as a nurse and was welcomed by a limping daughter who told her that Moyo had just raped her.
Moyo, from Mafinyela Village under Chief Mabhikwa in Lupane, has a dentist to thank for a non-custodial sentence after the teeth specialist estimated that he is aged between 17 and 18 years.
The dentist was consulted because Moyo’s age was not known as he does not have any form of identification.
Mrs Malunga regarded Moyo as a 17-year-old, making him a juvenile and sentenced him to five cuts with a rattan cane.
Prosecuting, Mr Tawanda Sigauke said the girl’s mother arrived home and found her daughter struggling to walk following the sex attack.
“On May 8 the girl’s mother went to work and left her in the custody of the accused. At 1PM, Moyo invited the girl to a bedroom hut upon which he lifted and placed her on the bed facing upwards and raped her once while promising to give her 10 cents,” said the prosecutor.
The court heard that Moyo was disturbed by the arrival of his victim’s mother who called out her name.
The girl immediately walked out of the hut and her mother noticed that she was walking with some difficulty.
“The mother quizzed her daughter who revealed that she had been sexually abused by Moyo. She was taken to St Luke’s Hospital where a medical examination proved that she had been sexually abused,” said Mr Sigauke.
Meanwhile, the court was told that Moyo has another pending case of rape which he committed in the same village and is waiting to be summoned to court after investigations are completed.-@ncubeleon
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