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MANZINI - A man was arrested and sentenced to 16 years for raping his 13-year-old relative for six years.

Promise Lucky Shabangu (21) of Lamgabhi had been having sexual intercourse with his relative from May 2016 to March 2022. He appeared before Acting Principal Magistrate Sindisiwe Zwane on Monday.

It was brought to the court’s attention that the parents of the minor were not aware of what the man was doing to their child, as they were away for work purposes.

During the trial, the minor shared that she was in Grade VI in one of the schools in the rural areas. She revealed that the accused once followed her to the toilet and closed the door and sexually assaulted her.

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She said she did not recall the exact year when that happened.

In another instance, she disclosed that she was in her mother’s bedroom lying on the bed, when the accused held her by the arms and went with her to the sitting room, where he again sexually assaulted her.

She said this went on for a long time until, this year, when her parents discovered what was happening to her.

The minor said the accused would often fetch condoms from her parents’ room and use them when sexually assaulting her. She said she shared this with her friend at school.

Meanwhile, the minor’s father told the court that on April 22, 2022, he was called at the girl’s school whereupon she told him that she had been sexually assaulted by the accused. He said that was when the matter was reported to the police and an investigation was conducted, leading to the arrest of the accused.

Acting Principal Magistrate Zwane sentenced Shabangu to 16 years without an option of a fine.