A 32-YEAR-OLD Silobela man was yesterday sentenced to 60 years in jail for raping his 13-year-old step-daughter on four occasions.
BY STEPHEN CHADENGA
The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, from Cetshwayo village under Chief Malisa in Silobela, had appeared before Gweru regional magistrate Phathekile Msipa, facing four counts of rape.
Msipa handed 15 years on each of the four counts, but said counts one and two would run concurrently, and so would three and four.
The rapist will, therefore, serve an effective 30-year jail term.
In passing sentence, Msipa said the man betrayed his role as a father figure and, instead of protecting his step-daughter, he abused her.
Appearing for the State, Kelvin Guveya told the court that in June last year, the convict saw his step-daughter talking to an unnamed boy along a path which leads to their homestead.
When the teen arrived home, the convict accused her of having love affairs with boys.
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He said he would report her to her mother, who would chase her away from home.
The court heard that the convict took an okapi knife, placed it in his shirt pocket and demanded to have sex with the complainant before raping her once.
In the same month, the man raped the minor three more times, but was caught red-handed on the fourth occasion by the teen’s mother.
The matter was reported to the police, leading to the arrest of the convict.
