The Sunday News
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
AN HIV-positive man from Esigodini has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter.
The man (38) who cannot be named for ethical reasons pleaded not guilty to a charge of rape when he appeared before Gwanda regional magistrate, Mr Mark Dzira last week but was convicted due to overwhelming evidence.
In passing his sentence, Mr Dzira told the man that he would sentence him to an effective 20-year jail term for putting the life of the juvenile at risk.
“Under different circumstances I would have suspended part of your sentence but in this case I am sentencing you to an effective 20 years imprisonment, nothing suspended. You knew very well that you were HIV-positive but you went on to rape the complainant thereby putting her life at risk.
“It’s already a serious offence that you raped the complainant but to do that knowing that you are HIV-positive worsens the gravity of this matter. You knew that through your actions you were likely to infect the complainant with the virus. People like you who go around deliberately spreading the HIV virus need to be taught a lesson as they are a danger to society,” he said.
Prosecuting, Mr Blessing Gundani said the man raped his stepdaughter in December last year. He said he warned the juvenile against reporting the matter and she kept quiet but her two-year-old sister told their mother.
“On 12 December 2018 in the morning the accused person and the complainant’s mother left for work leaving the complainant together with her younger sister. At around noon he came back from work and found the children playing on the veranda.
“He went into his bedroom and called the complainant inside. He grabbed her and pushed her onto the bed and raped her. The complainant screamed and called for help which forced her stepfather to leave her and warned her against reporting the matter,” he said.
Mr Gundani said the man ordered the complainant to wipe her blood from the floor and to take a bath so her mother would not know what transpired. He said while she was bathing the complainant’s younger sister noticed that her older sister was bleeding.
Mr Gundani said upon her return from work around 4pm, the two-year-old girl told her mother that her sister was bleeding. He said the woman questioned the daughter about the matter and she revealed that her stepfather had raped her. The matter was reported to the police resulting in the man’s arrest.
@DubeMatutu
