Teenager jailed 10 years for raping niece

A BULAWAYO teenager was on Thursday sentenced to 10 years in jail for raping his 11-year-old niece twice on different occasions.

The man (19) from Emthunzini whose name had been withheld to protect the victim. Was convicted of rape by Western Commonage regional magistrate, Mrs Sibongile Marondedze.

In passing the sentence, the magistrate noted that the offender was the complainant’s biological uncle whom the girl looked up to for protection.
She also noted that the victim was emotionally disturbed to the extent of not attending school as she sometimes absconded from school.

“As the biological uncle it was his duty to protect his niece, instead he took advantage of the authority he had as an uncle. He is a danger to the community and himself, due to his predatory behaviour hence there is a need for deterrence to avoid future offenders,” ruled Mrs Marondedze.

“The accused was supposed to protect the girl child but turned into a predator. As such, the offender is sentenced to an effective 10 years in jail.”

He committed the crime between June and September last year.

The prosecutor, Ms Christina Manyika said the sexual offence occurred each time the complainant returned home from school.

“The accused then dragged the complaint into his room and locked the door. He then raped her,” said Ms Manyika.

On the second occasion, the court heard that the offender raped the victim after she came back from school in September last year.

“The victim was coming from school and found the accused in the company of his friend. He dragged to his room where he removed her clothes and raped the complainant,” said Ms Manyika.

The matter came to light when the victim wrote a letter to her mother narrating the abuse. A report was made a police report leading to the arrest of the man.