*Man gets 10 years for the rape of a 5-year-old
A man’s bizarre defence against a rape charge could not save him from the wrath of law, as he was ultimately sentenced to a 10-year jail term for raping a five-year old girl.
Samunzala Bangae, 24, is accused of having unlawful carnal knowledge of a five-year old girl left in his care by her parents.
According to information presented before Kasane Senior Magistrate Wame Mosugelo, the accused was left with the child in Pandamatenga on September 22, 2022, while the mother travelled to her home village of Sepako. Bangae pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Giving evidence before court, Dr. Omphile Monareng said she examined the five-year-old, and observed signs consistent with genital trauma.
She noted that the complainant had a foul-smelling vaginal discharge, an absent hymen, and a reddened perineum.
The doctor said while some of the factors are ordinarily associated with injuries, such were absent from the victim.
“A child who has not yet commenced menstruation is not expected to have a vaginal discharge, particularly one that is foul-smelling,” she said.
In her opinion, such a discharge was indicative of an infection and raised the possibility that the complainant had contracted a sexually transmitted infection.
During cross-examination, the accused questioned Dr. Monareng regarding the significance of the complainant’s foul-smelling vaginal discharge.
In response, the doctor explained that while vaginal discharge in younger children is ordinarily clear, she emphasised that in the complainant’s case, the discharge was foul-smelling, which was abnormal and indicative of an underlying infection.
Giving evidence the five-year-old’s mother told court after leaving her daughter with the complainant she later a received a call from a neighbour informing her that Bangae had dropped off the complainant at her residence without her school uniform and that the child appeared to have been absent from school.
She then asked the neighbour to keep the child safe until her return, and upon returning she observed that the complainant appeared unhappy and withdrawn.
When she inquired about her wellbeing, the victim informed her mother that Bangae had been beating her. She further stated that the accused had “put his penis in her vagina.”
The matter was reported to the Social Welfare Department.
In his defence, Bangae denied ever having sexual intercourse with the young girl, suggesting bizarrely to court that the victim was in the habit of playing with sticks and might have inserted one into her vagina whilst playing.
Senior Magistrate Mosugelo dismissed Bangae’s defence stating that the “stick” claim offered no explanation for the additional medical findings, particularly the infection consistent with recent sexual activity.
“Consequently, even on the accused’s own version, the medical evidence remains unexplained and continues to lend support to the complainant’s account that she was sexually penetrated,” the Magistrate said before delivering a guilty verdict and condemning Bangae to 10 years behind bars.
