Man Slapped With 40-Year Jail Term For Defiling 8-Year-Old Girl

A 34-year-old man has been sentenced to 40 years in jail after being found guilty of defiling an 8-year-old girl.

In a statement issued on Friday, June 26, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said the sentence was handed down by Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo after the prosecution proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The accused was charged with defilement contrary to Section 8(1) as read with Section 8(3) of the Sexual Offences Act of 2006.

He was also charged with committing an indecent act with a child contrary to Section 11(1) of the Sexual Offences Act.

“Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo ruled that prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and dismissed the accused person’s defence as incapable of dislodging the evidence presented in court,” read the statement in part. 

According to the ODPP, the convict committed the offenses on diverse dates between July 1, 2023, and September 12, 2024, at the Café area in Likoni sub-county within Mombasa County.

The accused denied the charge during the trial, prompting the prosecution to call six witnesses to testify.

“The minor told the court the accused would take her to his house and defile her repeatedly while her young brother remained outside. She said he also took her to a bushy area and assaulted her on several occasions,” ODPP stated. 

The minor also testified that the accused gave her sweets and threatened to harm her if she disclosed the incidents to anyone.

The ODPP noted that the matter came to light after a neighbor informed the girl’s mother who also testified before the court. 

“She said her son had also told her that the accused would give him a bicycle to ride before taking the girl into his house,” the statement read. 

In his defence, the accused denied the allegations and told the court he had never committed such an offence.

However, he admitted knowing the complainant because they were neighbors and that he occasionally gave her brother a bicycle to ride.

Magistrate Odhiambo found that the accused had taken advantage of the child’s innocence and defiled her and slapped him with a 40-year jail term. 

This comes weeks after Principal Magistrate Caroline Wattimah, at a court in Eldoret, sentenced a man to life in prison for defiling an 11-year-old girl.

Wattimah delivered the sentence after the man was found guilty by the court for committing the atrocities against the minor in her own mother's bed.

The suspect was allegedly dating the victim's mother at the time.

During the case proceedings, the victim narrated to the court the events that took place in Turbo Sub-County.

The prosecution pleaded with the Court to declare the suspect a dangerous sexual offender, a request which it concurred with.

Principle Magistrate Wattimah further directed that the victim be accorded medical treatment and psychological support as requested by the prosecution.