Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Mutare Bureau
A 42-YEAR-OLD man, who lured a teenage girl into his home after promising her that he wanted to give her some food, ended up raping her throughout the night.
The man and the 15-year-old girl’s family have a close relationship.
He has been jailed for 20 years.
The man, whose name has been withheld, appeared at the Chipinge regional court, where he was slapped with the lengthy jail term.
Chipinge regional magistrate, Bishard Chineka, presided over the matter while Isaac Tangwena represented the State.
The man was convicted after a full trial.
“On an unknown date in 2024, the accused lured the victim to his home, under the guise of collecting food at night.
“The victim agreed as the offender was an acquaintance of the family, which he used to help regularly, when their mother was away at work.
“While at his residence, the offender ushered the victim into his bedroom and threatened to stab her if she refused to comply with his orders,” said Tangwena.
He said the man forcibly removed the minor’s clothes and raped her several times throughout the night.
“The victim spent the night at the accused’s home and the abuse continued on several occasions under the same circumstances.
“The matter came to light when the victim’s siblings alerted their mother, and the victim narrated the ordeal to her,” he said.
The accused claimed he was innocent.
However, evidence, including witness accounts and a medical report proving that the minor had been raped, were presented before the court.
Passing sentence, Magistrate Chineka described the offence as heinous, gross abuse of trust and a profound violation of a child’s rights, dignity and safety.
“We are confronted with a crime that strikes at the very heart of our society.
“You violated a child who trusted you and, in doing so, you shattered her sense of safety and inflicted trauma that may follow her for the rest of her life,” said Chineka.
The court noted that the victim was only 15 and that the accused exploited his relationship with the family to commit the offence, before threatening to kill the child to buy her silence.
“The use of threats to silence a minor compounds the gravity of this offence.
“It demonstrates a calculated attempt to escape accountability and shows a complete disregard for the rule of law and for human life. “This court must make it unequivocally clear that crimes of this nature will be met with the full might of the law.
“Children are entitled to protection, not predation,” he said.
Mathew Masinge