×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

HIV+ woman (38) cashes in on teenagers for sex

News
IN a bizarre case of sexual abuse, a 38-year-old HIV-positive Highfield woman was yesterday convicted of sexually abusing two teenagers aged 14 and 15 years respectively.

IN a bizarre case of sexual abuse, a 38-year-old HIV-positive Highfield woman was yesterday convicted of sexually abusing two teenagers aged 14 and 15 years respectively while forcing the boys to pay $3 per each encounter or pay with clothing.

CHARLES LAITON

Faith Gona is now awaiting sentence.

Gona is said to have started her sexual escapades on the young boys sometime in December last year until late January this year.

Regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya heard that during the material time, the two victims were introduced to the woman by a 17-year-old teenager who had been a regular sexual partner with the woman.

The court heard, each time the boys visited Gona for sex, she would ask them to pay for the act and provide condoms for protection.

One of the victims, a 15-year-old boy, is said to have been paying for the sex by offering Gona clothes which he would have stolen from his grandmother.

The court heard, the matter came to light when the boy’s grandmother quizzed him over the disappearance of her clothes prompting the teenager to spill the beans leading to the woman’s arrest.

“The boys said initially the accused demanded $5 from them, but they pleaded with her to reduce the price and she charged them $3. However, the other boy had no cash, but would bring clothes stolen from his grandmother,” Mujaya said.

“The other boy who testified in this court said he failed to have sex with the accused person because he could not afford payments.”

The court heard, although the State only chose to prosecute Gona over two complainants, she was said to have had sexual encounters with other boys, one of whom was called to give evidence in court.

“There was another boy who came to court and testified as a witness, telling the court that he was also a victim of sexual abuse by the accused, but surprisingly for unknown reasons, the State chose to consider the boy a witness, but did not charge the accused for the boy’s abuse,” Mujaya said.

In his judgment, the magistrate said, it was surprising that Gona told the court that she was married and would not have molested the young boys, but the purported husband, when he was called by the woman as a witness, he  failed to tell the court when, how and where he got married to her.

“Both the accused and her purported husband failed to tell the court the type of the marriage union that existed between the two. Furthermore, they provided different dates of when they alleged to have gotten married,” Mujaya said.