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Thandeka Moyo, Court Reporter
A MAN from Plumtree was yesterday slapped with a 40-year jail term for raping his live in girlfriend’s daughters aged two and four.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the minors, raped the two girls while their mother had gone to a hospital and left them alone.
Regional magistrate Sibongile-Msipa Marondedze rebuked the man for being heartless saying he breached the trust that the children had since he was like a stepfather to the siblings.
“All State witnesses gave their evidence well and the court believes they’re credible. There’s no way that a four-year-old girl can lie against you and claim that you raped them while their mother was away,” said magistrate Msipa-Marondedze.
“People like you deserve to be uprooted from society so peace and order is maintained. You’re therefore sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for each count. From the total sentence 10 years have been suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.”
The man had pleaded not guilty to both counts.
“I plead not guilty to the two counts of rape as I went to herd donkeys after my girlfriend left for the hospital,” said the man in his defence.
He alleged his girlfriend made up the story to fix him for having a child outside their relationship.
“I think it’s only fair to tell the court what really angered her. I wasn’t at that home on the alleged day and didn’t rape the two children,” maintained the man.
The four-year-old girl took to the witness stand in camera and told the court that their mum’s boyfriend sexually abused them and that she witnessed her young sister being raped.
Concilia Ncube for the State said on May 13 last year at around 6AM, the mother of the two children, who stayed with the accused, left them in his custody.
“Their mother went to the clinic and at around 12.20PM, the man called his eldest stepdaughter to his bedroom hut. He then instructed the toddler to strip naked and raped her once,” said Ncube.
Minutes after the incident, the girl’s younger sister entered the bedroom hut.
“He grabbed her and placed her on the bed. The girl started crying and the man took switches and beat her saying she must keep quiet,” said Ncube.
“The man raped the younger sibling once and the girl started crying. When he was about to beat her up again, he realised that the older girl was still in the room and chased her away”.
The court heard that the elder sister stood near the door and saw the man bathing her sibling.
“The man went to the kitchen and took a burning log and burnt the toddler on the right hand and left leg.
When his girlfriend came back, she called her eldest daughter who took long to respond,” said Ncube.
The mother observed that her daughter was limping as she came to her and reported the matter to a neighbourhood watch committee member who alerted police leading to the man’s arrest.
Two medical reports were produced as evidence of the sexual abuse.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter