A 25-YEAR-OLD sodomite based in Harare has been sentenced to 55 years’ imprisonment for sexually abusing five minor children from his neighbourhood.
BY DESMOND CHNGARANDE
Philip Mutasa, who claimed to have been raised at an unnamed children’s home in Harare, will serve a 40-year-and-10-month effective jail term after Harare magistrate Lucy Mungwari suspended 15 years on condition of good behaviour, while another 10 months were added to his sentence from a previous conviction.
Mutasa told court that he learnt this behaviour at a local children’s home, which he declined to name.
Mungwari found him guilty on all five counts, saying Mutasa had failed to dispute evidence proffered against him by all the witnesses.
“. . . you did not dispute the witnesses’ testimonies that you abused each of them more than six times and medical affidavits corroborate to the evidence that you indeed abused them,” the magistrate said.
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“Medical affidavits of all your victims revealed that they were penetrated and injured.”
The State proved that between April and June this year and on numerous occasions, Mutasa would call his five victims, who were not named in court to protect their identity, to his room where he was a tenant.
The court heard Mutasa would undress the complainants and sodomise them.
After the abuse, he would promise to buy them corn snacks so they would not disclose the abuse.
Mutasa, at times, would sleep with his victims the whole night after helping them with their school homework.
The matter came to light after a maid, who was working for Mutasa’s landlord, found him being intimate with another man and raised alarm, leading to his arrest.
The court heard that was when the victims revealed that Mutasa was in the habit of sexually abusing them.
The matter was reported to the police.
Ressie Nyamombe prosecuted for the State.