A Zimbabwean man who defiled a 15-year-old boy he met at a bar in Lentsweletau was sentenced to 10 years in jail by a Molepolole Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Maxwell Masvodza, 33, had sexual intercourse with the boy on the 22nd and 24th March 2021 after they befriended each other at Okanyatsa Bar.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, testified that Masvodza offered him money and beer and invited him to his house.
He said he was afraid to refuse and hoped that Masvodza would only let him sleep on the couch.
However, he said Masvodza forced himself on him and threatened to kill him if he told anyone.
After his ordeal, the teenage boy is said to have reported the incident to his family.
The police arrested Masvodza five days later after a woman who knew the boy recognized him at a shop and alerted two men who took him to the police station.
Masvodza, who arrived in Botswana in 2017, denied the charges and claimed that he did not know the boy’s age. He said he assumed that children under 18 were not allowed in bars.
He also said that the boy approached him for his beer and phone and followed him to his house willingly.
He said he never had sexual contact with him and suggested that the boy might have fabricated the story to extort money from him.
However, his defence was dismissed by Chief Magistrate Gaseitsewe Tonoki, who said that the boy’s age and appearance clearly indicated that he was a minor.
She also said that the boy’s testimony was consistent and credible, while Masvodza’s was full of contradictions and lies.
She said that Masvodza had abused the trust and vulnerability of the boy and showed no remorse for his actions.
She sentenced him to 10 years in prison, saying that such a crime deserved a deterrent punishment to protect the society from sexual predators.
Masvodza, who looked shocked and disappointed, requested a copy of the judgement so that he could appeal the matter at the High Court.
