A 27-year-old herdsman will spend 10 years in prison for defiling his employer’s 8-year-old daughter.
Lucas Mwaura enticed the girl with sweets and molested her at Tipis sub-location in Mau Narok on August 13 2013. He had been left alone at home with the girl.
Nakuru resident magistrate Judicaster Nthuku said that witnesses who testified in court proved that indeed the accused committed the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
"The evidence given in this court leaves no doubt that you committed the heinous act,” the magistrate said.
“l will therefore accordingly convict you to serve as an example to would-be offenders.”
Mwaura, who had denied the defilement charge, was also facing an alternative charge of indecently touching the minor’s private parts without her consent.
Prosecutor Samuel Kamau told the court how Mwaura lured the girl to a nearby bush, where he defiled her. The rapist then warned her of dire consequences if she reported the matter to anybody.
However, the girl reported the matter to her grandmother who, together with her mother, reported the matter to the police, leading to the suspect's arrest.
A medical examination report presented in court by Dr Justus Nondi of the Rift Valley General Hospital said the minor may have been defiled.
In his defence, Mwaura pleaded for leniency, saying that he had a young family that sorely depended on him.
But the magistrate rubbished his plea, noting that the magnitude of the offence was large as the rights of the child had been abused.
Mwaura was given a 14-day window within which to appeal against the sentence.