adminThandeka Moyo Court Reporter
A PLUMTREE man was slapped with a 30 year jail term for raping his two minor children on whom he applied Vaseline as a lubricant before sexually abusing them.
The man, 23, who cannot be named to protect his minor victims, smeared petroleum jelly on three children’s private parts, among them his 11 month- old baby, before raping them on several occasions.
His wife and her sister allegedly concealed the abuse for two years.
Regional magistrate Mark Dzira convicted the man of two counts of raping his niece and stepdaughter and discharged him on one count where he allegedly raped his 11-month-old baby.
In passing judgement, the magistrate said the two minors, aged 7 and 10 were good witnesses whose evidence clearly showed that the man had sexually abused them.
“The court is satisfied with the evidence given by the two minor complainants as the truth of what transpired. However the court could not conclude that you also raped your 11-month-old baby,” said magistrate Dzira.
“You are therefore sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for each of the two counts of which 5 years are suspended for five years. You will effectively serve 25 years.”
The abuse which started in 2013 went undetected until the man’s arrest in May this year following a tip off.
The assailant’s wife, in her testimony said her sister told her of the alleged sexual abuse, but they both agreed to keep it under wraps fearing that it would strain their relations with their in-laws.
One of the abused girls is her sister’s daughter.
“My sister came to me and told me that my husband was sexually abusing our children. When I confronted him he denied that and even threatened to assault my sister. We took the children to the doctor and a medical report proved that the children were raped,” she said.
They however, said they could not immediately make a police report fearing that it could strain their relations with their in-laws.
“We kept it a secret because we did not want to create enmity between our family and our in-laws. I suspect my husband sexually abused the victims because we were no longer sleeping together because of our domestic problems,” she said.
Prosecuting, Tinashe Dzipe said between 2013 and May 2015, the suspect would in the absence of his wife invite the victims to his bedroom and rape them. He would then threaten to assault them if they told anyone about the abuse.
The court heard that he called his step daughter while she was playing with her cousin, his wife’s sister’s daughter. He took the girls to his bedroom where he ordered them to remove their clothes before wearing a condom. He then smeared Vaseline petroleum jelly on their genitals before raping them in turns, said Dzipe.
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