adminNokusa Masuku Court Reporter
A TEENAGE rapist on Friday told a magistrate that powerful evil spirits drove him into molesting an eight-year-old girl. The 16-year-old boy from Fort Rixon, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Charles Dzira to plead guilty to rape.
He had his age to thank, after he was spared jail and given a suspended sentence.
“I admit that I raped her, but it was because of a demon. I don’t know what kind of an evil spirit forced me to commit this vile act. I wasn’t my normal self,” said the teenager.
Prosecuting, Tinashe Dzipe told the court that sometime in September this year, at around 4PM, the girl was on her way home from school in the company of her younger sister when they met the teenager.
He asked the girl to accompany him to a nearby bush to gather some wild fruits. The girl complied and went in the bush with him. The boy told the girl’s younger sister to wait by the roadside.
The court heard that when the two were out of sight, the boy ordered the girl to lie down so that he could have sex with her. The girl refused and the teenager threatened to beat her. Out of fear, the girl complied. He raped her once.
When she arrived home, the victim’s grandmother noticed that her uniform was covered with dust and there was some whitish substance on the back of her uniform.
She became suspicious and interrogated her granddaughter who revealed details of the sex attack.
Magistrate Dzira suspended sentencing for five years on condition that the boy does not commit a similar crime within that period.
derick.khumalo