A 14-year-old boy who raped and impregnated a nine-year-old Tsholotsho girl has been slapped with a three-year wholly suspended sentence, reported the Chronicle.
The teenager, whose name is withheld, is from Masekesa Line in Tsholotsho, Matabeleland North Province.
He appeared for full trial before Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Joseph Mabeza on Friday and pleaded guilty.
The teenager was represented by his lawyers Task Vhiki and Mary Nyika of Macharaga Law Chambers.
In mitigation, the 14-year-old’s lawyers said he has already endured enough punishment since his childhood has been taken away by becoming a father at a tender age.
The lawyers also argued that since he has become a father at his age, that has affected him at school and tainted his reputation in the community.
In arriving at the sentence the magistrate considered that the teenage boy and the victim are cousins.
Mabeza also said after the pair engaged in sex, a child was born and at his age, the teenager has become a father.
The magistrate also ruled that the teenager cannot be thrown into jail where there are hardened criminals.
The court heard that the Tsholotsho girl, who made national headlines last year after it was discovered that she was seven months pregnant, and the boy are cousins.
At a date not known to the prosecutor but sometime in February 2022, the minor and her two sisters who were aged eight and 14 at the time visited their relative and spent a night there.
The minor who was doing Grade Three slept with her sisters in the kitchen and the teenage boy also slept in the kitchen but alone.
Prosecutors said that during the night the boy woke up and sneaked into the minor’s blankets and raped her.
The minor, however, did not reveal to anyone that she was raped by her cousin.
The matter came to light after her mother got suspicious after seeing her stomach bulging and took her to Tsholotsho District Hospital for a pregnancy test.
The girl tested positive and after examining her, it was discovered that she was seven months pregnant.
The mother then reported the incident to the police but failed to disclose to the Victim Friendly Unit (VFU) police officer the suspect who could have impregnated her daughter.
The minor was taken to the Department of Social Welfare where she received counselling and was placed at Sanders Johns Centre for safety.
The girl gave birth on 14 November 2022. A police officer interviewed her and she revealed that she was raped by her 14-year-old cousin.
DNA tests were done and confirmed that her 14-year-old cousin had indeed impregnated her leading to his arrest.
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