A 20-year-old maid from the Sinja suburb of Gweru has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting her employer’s eight-year-old son and infecting him with a sexually transmitted infection.
Sitholokuhle Nyathi was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault by Gweru Regional Magistrate Mr Christopher Matoror.
To reduce her sentence, Niyati asked the court to give her a lenient sentence, telling the judge that she was motivated by a desire to quench her appetite for sex.
For the state, Mr Sibanjani Dube called for a harsher sentence for Nyathi to deter potential perpetrators.
“The accused took advantage of the minor’s weakness and assaulted him in an inappropriate manner. “By having unlawful, intentional and unprotected sex with an eight-year-old minor, the accused not only violated the trust placed in her by her employers, but also abused her power in the most despicable way,” Mr Dube said.
He said Nyathi caused psychological scarring to the victim.
“What makes this crime even more aggravating is that the accused infected the complainant with a sexually transmitted disease, thereby exposing the minor to the risk of contracting other related diseases, therefore a stricter deterrent punishment is the only option for such an illegal act,” Mr Dube said.
The court heard that Nyathi shared a room with the minor, who teaches second grade at a local school.
“On the first charge, sometime in January, Nyathi fondled the child’s genitals before having unprotected sex with the minor. “On another occasion, she woke the boy and invited him to share blankets with her, whereupon she sexually assaulted him,” Mr Dube said. .
Despite the painful experiences, the boy remained silent.
The matter came to light on March 30 when the boy visited his aunt in Kwekwe.
The court heard that while visiting the toilet, the alert aunt noticed her nephew’s urine had changed color with some blood spots.
She took him to a local clinic for medical treatment where tests were conducted and the results showed that the boy had a sexually transmitted disease.
After being interrogated, the minor revealed that Nyathi was sexually assaulting him.
The victim’s aunt notified the boy’s mother, who in turn filed a police report that led to Nyathi’s arrest. Announce
