Malta Independent

Olympic champ Kipruto charged with having sex with minor

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Olympic steeplecha­se champion Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya has been charged with having sexual intercours­e with a 15-year-old girl and was released on bail Monday after pleading not guilty.

Kipruto was charged with what is referred to as "defilement" in Kenyan law — sexual intercours­e with a minor under the age of 18. Because the girl is under 16, Kipruto faces at least 20 years in prison if convicted, according to Kenya's sexual offenses laws.

The charge is comparable to statutory rape.

The 25-year-old Kipruto, who is a policeman, was charged in a courthouse in Kapsabet, a town in the high-altitude Rift Valley region that is famous for producing a stream of world-class distance runners. Kipruto lives in the region and was born in nearby Eldoret, another renowned running town.

Kipruto wore a red sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head in an attempt to hide his face from photograph­ers at the courthouse. He also had a mask on because of the coronaviru­s. Police officers who escorted Kipruto to court tried to prevent journalist­s from taking photograph­s of him. He was released on $1,800 cash bail.

Kipruto is alleged to have had intercours­e with the girl on Oct. 20 and 21, according to the charge sheet, and was first arrested on Nov. 11. Kenyan media reported that the girl had disappeare­d from her home and had stayed at Kipruto's house for three days.

Kipruto could argue that the minor deceived him into believing she was over the age of 18 or that he reasonably believed she was over 18. He made no arguments in his defense on Monday apart from denying the charge.

Kipruto won gold in the 3,000meter steeplecha­se at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He followed that up with back-to-back victories at the world championsh­ips in 2017 and 2019.

He hasn't competed this season. He withdrew from the Diamond League meet in Monaco in August after testing positive for the coronaviru­s.

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