Bedding minor earns married man 3-year term

A CHITUNGWIZA married man will spend three years in jail for being intimate with a 14-year-old girl.

Munyaradzi Muchina (21), who is married, claims he dated the girl under the impression that she was an adult.

The girl fell pregnant as a result of the offence.

Muchina was initially charged with rape, but after the trial, regional magistrate Mrs Estere Chivasa found him guilty of a lesser offence.

The man pleaded guilty to the charge of having sexual intercourse with a minor, arguing that the act was consensual.

Ms Chivasa said evidence before the court showed that the two were in love and that the girl was never forced into the act.

“From the way the complainant explained what happened, it became clear to me that the two had consensual sexual intercourse,” she said.

“The girl decided to divulge the information upon discovering that she was now six months pregnant.”

Ms Chivasa blasted Muchina for recklessness and disrespect that saw him bedding the girl in her parents’ house and without protection.

Prosecutor Mr Tendai Mukariri said the incident occurred on November 4 last year at a party held at the girl’s family home in Seke.

Muchina, who was friends with a tenant at the girl’s house, took advantage of the celebrations and lured the girl into one of the rooms where they became intimate.

The matter came to light on March 26 this year, when the girl’s aunt quizzed her over rumours she was pregnant.

The girl later opened up and disclosed the offence to her aunt.

A report was made to the police, leading to Muchina’s arrest.