By Wadzanai Chakara
A 38-year-old Chinhoyi man received a 40-year prison sentence for repeatedly raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter.
The court found that the man assaulted the teenager on four separate occasions between May and July of this year.
The attacks occurred when the victim’s mother was away and the girl was in his care.
Police arrested the man after the girl became pregnant and identified him as the perpetrator, according to a statement from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The NPA confirmed his subsequent conviction.
The court suspended 10 years of the sentence on condition of good behaviour, meaning the man will serve 30 years in prison.
The NPA condemned the offender’s actions as “predatory and traumatic” and stated that “society has a duty to protect vulnerable children from abuse within the home.”
Despite high conviction rates for such crimes, sexual abuse of minors continues to rise across the country.
Elias Dambudzo, leader of the True Gospel of God Ministries, linked some of these crimes to a “get-rich-quick” mentality. He alleged that some traditional healers enable this abuse by providing clients with concoctions and instructing them to use the substances before or after sexually assaulting a child to attain wealth.
“How does a man in his 40s, for example, rape a four- or five-month-old baby?” Dambudzo asked. “Do you think that is normal?”
He urged the law to severely punish any traditional healer who advises clients to sexually assault minors for financial gain.
