A Kangema court sentenced a 20-year-old young man to life imprisonment Monday after he was found guilty of defiling an 11-year-old girl.
Dancan Thiongo Kariuki was slapped with the sentence by Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Kiama after the court proved he defiled the grade 6 pupil several times on diverse dates between January and June 13, 2022, at Nyakahura Sub location in Kangema Sub County.
In her testimony, the girl testified that the accused used to visit their home, where she stayed with her grandmother and uncle.
She noted Kariuki was a friend to her uncle whom they schooled together in a local secondary school.
The court heard that during the period of committing the offense, the accused was a form four student.
The pupil informed the court that the accused started to seduce her in January 2022 and forced her to watch pornographic videos once he visited their home.
“In June 13, 2022, I was with my aunt, who had visited us. We went to give our goats water, when my aunt left me behind and went back in the house, the accused came and found me, forced me to lie down, and then defiled me near the goats’ den,” the girl narrated before the court.
The pupil added that it did not stop there, as Kariuki defiled her several times on different dates. “The other times he used the house of my uncle to defile me,” she claimed.
The girl said she was forced to inform her school friend who advised her to tell their class teacher.
The court heard, the teacher called and informed their grandmother and the girl’s mother who works in Nairobi.
The girl was taken for medical examination at Kangema hospital and was given some medications to prevent her from contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
The medical report tabled before the court revealed the girl was defiled, but tests for venereal diseases and pregnancy were negative.
In his defense, Kariuki said on the mentioned dates he was in school, thus the family of the girl was lying about the defilement incidents.
He claimed the girl mistook him with another person, claims which were dismissed by the court saying he was positively identified and he was a neighbour to the girl’s home.
He told the court that after clearing secondary education, he was preparing to join college by mid this year.
Delivering the judgement, the magistrate rejected the accused’s defense in totality saying it does not tilt the prosecution’s facts.
Kariuki was given 14 days to appeal if not satisfied with the judgment.
By Bernard Munyao
