MAID (16) FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION:

A 26-YEAR-OLD woman has been arrested on allegations of forcing her 16-year-old housemaid to have sex with three men at her house in Dzivaresekwa, Harare, on several occasions between May and July last year.

The woman appeared before Mrs Rumbidzai Mugwagwa facing charges of procuring for the purpose of prostitution under the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act.

She was remanded out of custody to February 14.

It is alleged that the accused brought men to her house on different occasions where the complainant was forced to have sexual intercourse with them without her consent.

The court heard that sometime in May last year, the complainant left home after an alleged dispute with her grandfather and started staying with another man, who is also an accused person.

After some days staying together, and having disputes between them, the complainant left to stay with the accused woman.

It is alleged that the woman then invited three men on different days and would lock them in the same room with the complainant where they would forcibly be intimate with her.

On August 5, 2016, the complainant started staying with another woman who later asked for the whereabouts of her relatives.

They proceeded to her grandfather’s home where she revealed the offences and a report was made to police, leading to the accused’s arrest.

She was referred to a local hospital for medical examination.

In a separate case, a 25-year-old early childhood development teacher at a Harare primary school who allegedly raped a six-year-old pupil in a classroom at the school was denied bail at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts and advised to approach the High Court.

Rinopa Leo Kuvarika appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Rumbidzai Mugwagwa and was remanded in police custody to February 3.

Kuvarika is challenging placement on remand, insisting he could not have caused the injuries detected on the girl since it is alleged the minor had been previously sexually assaulted.

Evidence from a medical examination shows that the minor sustained injuries on her private parts.

It is alleged that the teacher (Kuvarika) called the victim (name withheld) into the classroom, locked the door and removed the complainant’s undergarment and fondled her genitals.

It is alleged that he went on to have sexual intercourse with the victim without her consent.