An 84-year-old woman was yesterday jailed 15 years for sexually abusing a 17-year-old autistic student.
In return,
Erica Gurure of Mufakose would pay the boy amounts that ranged from US$10 to
US$15 to buy his silence.
She was found
guilty after a full trial by Harare regional magistrate Letwin Rwodzi.
Autistic people
struggle to communicate and interact with other people.
They even find
it hard to understand how other people think or feel and can find things like bright lights or loud noises
overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable.
The State, represented by Cecilia Mashingaidze, proved that sometime last year, Gurure met the boy on his way from school and asked him to accompany her to her house. Upon arrival, she took the boy into her bedroom and ordered him to lie down.
She then forced
herself on the boy and afterwards told him to go home and not to disclose the
incident to anyone.
Gurure would
call the boy and ‘rape’ him on numerous occasions and would pay him various
amounts from US$10 to US$50.
The assault
didn’t occur during the school holidays as the boy would visit his uncle.
The court heard
that on February 14, the boy went to school and on his way back he met Gurure
who took him to her house where she abused him once again.
Afterwards, she
gave him US$10 and told him to go to the market where he bought two boxer
shorts, a T-shirt and a pair of socks.
He then boarded
a kombi to Ruwa and got lost in the area. He was assisted by a Good Samaritan
who took him to Ruwa Police Station where he was reunited with his uncle. H
Metro
0 comments:
Post a Comment