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Mashonaland Central Bureau

A 42-year-old man who raped his 11-year-old daughter on numerous occasions since she was eight years, was yesterday sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Bindura magistrate.

The man from Mhasvi Village in Chiweshe under Chief Negomo kept his daughter isolated and silenced her by saying no one would look after her if she reported him to the police.

The man pleaded not guilty to rape charges when he appeared before regional magistrate Mr Ngoni Nduna, but was convicted after a full trial.

He was initially sentenced to 20 years, but Mr Nduna suspended two years of the sentence.

Mr Nduna said the man had committed, “a terrible, traumatising, dehumanising, humiliating and abominable crime”.

The court was told that the medical report showed that the minor had sustained hymnal tears that had since healed, an indication that the abuse started years back.

The sexual assault started in 2016 when the man was left in custody of the minor after he divorced the mother.

The victim slept in the kitchen, while the father used the bedroom.

The court heard that on an unknown date in 2016, the father knocked at her door at night.

She opened the door for him and he raped her. The court heard that she cried for help, but no one heard her and he ordered her not to tell anyone about the offence before going back to his room. He raped her on numerous occasions and in her evidence in court the minor said she became afraid of her father.

On December 20, 2019, she was assaulted for allowing a neighbour to fetch water at their well and decided to leave the homestead.

She met Chaitezvi Mundandiswe, the sister-in-charge at Rosa Clinic, while looking for transport to Mt Darwin where she intended to look for her mother.

The girl narrated her ordeal to her and the matter was reported to the police, leading to the man’s arrest.

In his defence, the man said he used to come home late and never sexually assaulted his daughter.

He told the court that relatives refused to take custody of the minor and the mother was also not forthcoming.