A 19-year-old Shurugwi man has been slapped with an effective nine-year jail term after being convicted of raping a Grade One pupil aged seven, who had been sent by her mother to collect beans from his place.
Stephen Chadenga OWN CORRESPONDENT
Mike Mupetiwa of Muguti Village, under Chief Nhema, raped the minor at his homestead.
Gweru regional magistrate Morgan Nemadire initially sentenced Mupetiwa to 12-years in prison, but suspended three years for five years on condition of good behaviour.
Nemadire, however, ruled that though the accused was a first offender, cases involving the sexual abuse of minors were rampant and called for stiffer penalties.
The State’s case was that on January 11 2015 the accused asked the complainant’s mother to collect beans from his place.
The minor’s mother, however, decided to send the child to the accused’s place, which is in the same neighbourhood.
But the accused led the complainant to his bedroom hut, where he felled her, before covering her mouth with his hands and raped her once.
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After the heinous act, the accused gave complainant his jersey to wrap her waist to cover blood stains on her skirt.
The complainant’s mother, however, noticed her daughter limping and upon inquiries discovered that the little girl had been raped.
