THE State is pushing for a stiff sentence for a 25-year-old man who was last week convicted of bedding and impregnating a 13-year-old after his HIV test results came back positive.
Harare magistrate Patricia Sangaza-Kamwanda postponed the
man’s sentence to next Tuesday.
This comes after the state represented by Hazvineyi
Chiota-Rukande submitted that the convict, who cannot be named to protect the
identity of the girl, is supposed to be sentenced not less than 10 years behind
bars.
“According to Section 80, any person who is convicted of
any related sexual offences involving penetration must be given a sentence of a
minimum of 10 years imprisonment,” Chiota-Rukande submitted.
In mitigation, the man said he had engaged in sexual
intercourse with the minor, who was 12 when the pair first slept together last
year, after she lied about her age.
“I thought the girl was 16-years-old and I only knew her
when she came to our house to play with my eight-year-old sister,” he told the
court.
Chiota-Rukande told the court that the man proposed love to
the minor, fully aware of her age since they have been staying together in the
same neighbourhood for the past 10 years.
She said the man was lying since the two families’ houses were just 100m
apart.
After proposing to the minor in May last year, the duo
started dating until sometime this year when the man requested the girl to come
to his house. While at the house, he is alleged to have lured the girl into his
bedroom where they two engaged in sexual intercourse without protection.
Sometime in August this year whilst the girl’s mother was
not at home, the minor confided in their maid that the man had impregnated her
and she was planning to elope.
On the following day when the mother returned, the maid
told her about the matter and they immediately proceeded to the police, leading
to the man’s arrest. During her appearance on the stand, the minor told the
court that she was in love with the man.
“I did not reveal the matter to anyone because we were in
love and he is my husband and the father of my unborn baby,” said the girl.
Daily News
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