Zvikomborero Parafini
Court Reporter
A SELF-PROCLAIMED prophet has been jailed for 20 years for raping a 14-year-old girl during an all-night church gathering at a Johanne Masowe shrine in Epworth.
Petros Aaron (48) was convicted of rape after a full trial by Harare regional magistrate Fadzai Mtombeni.
He denied assaulting the teenager and challenged the State’s version of events.
Prosecutor Kuda Muza proved that Aaron and the girl were members of Johanne Masowe yeNyeredzi Nomwe and were at Chitsuwa Shrine in Sunway City, Epworth, when the offence occurred.
On July 11 the girl attended an all-night church service at the shrine in the company of a relative.
At around 8pm, she retired to a small tent while other congregants continued with prayers.
The State proved that Aaron entered the tent, grabbed the girl by the neck and covered her mouth before threatening her to remain silent.
He overpowered her, removed some of her clothing and raped her once before warning her not to disclose the attack.
The girl later revealed the assault to her mother and was medically examined.
During trial, Aaron pleaded not guilty and denied personally knowing the teenager.
In his defence, he argued that he was merely a member and not a leader of the church and claimed he had never had individual access to the girl.
He also sought to cast doubt on the allegations by arguing that more than 40 people stayed at the shrine in closely packed tents and that prayers ordinarily continued throughout the night.
