Polytechnic student acquitted

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A 23-YEAR-OLD student at the Gweru Polytechnic College was on Friday acquitted on charges of aggravated indecent assault on allegations of sodomising a six-year-old boy in his car.

A 23-YEAR-OLD student at the Gweru Polytechnic College was on Friday acquitted on charges of aggravated indecent assault on allegations of sodomising a six-year-old boy in his car.

Stephen Chadenga OWN CORRESPONDENT

Phineas Sithole, who appeared before regional magistrate Morgan Nemadire, denied the charge maintaining the boy’s father falsely incriminated him because he was failing to pay $10 he owed him for the maintenance of his car.

Testifying in camera at the Gweru Victim-Friendly Court last week, the boy said Sithole called him to his car and pricked him with a stick he was using to fix his car.

The boy said Sithole did not undress him, but assaulted him with a stick while he was fully dressed.

In passing sentence, Nemadire ruled that the State had failed to prove beyond doubt that the boy was actually sodomised.

Allegations were that on September 18 2014 at around 10:20am, Sithole was at a house in Mambo high-density suburb with the complainant.

The boy had been left in the custody of other children at the house and Sithole is said to have summoned him to his car where he forced him to lie on his stomach and covered his mouth with his hand before sodomising him.

The State’s outline said the boy’s mother found her son sleeping in the kitchen when she returned from church at around midday.

When she asked him what the problem was, the boy first said he had a headache, but later revealed that he had been indecently assaulted by Sithole in his car.

The boy’s mother reported the matter to the police, leading to Sithole’s arrest.

A medical report revealed that an object had been used to prick the boy.