MASERU – A 24-year-old Maseru man was this week sentenced to 10 years in jail after he was convicted of rape.
Serope Mabusetsa Lekaka was charged with contravening the Sexual Offences Act of 2003. Lekaka was accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl without her consent at Phuthiatsana on the outskirts of Maseru last year in October.
The court was told that the girl was on her way to school when Lekaka approached her and threatened to assault her with a stick if she refused to comply with his orders.
Lekaka pleaded guilty to the charge. He also pleaded for forgiveness from the court.
The magistrate, Masupha Kao, said it would be inappropriate to be lenient in this matter as rape was a serious crime.
The magistrate said he did not consider the possibility of HIV infection due to the fact that a long time had lapsed between the commission of the offence and the hearing of the case.
No reasons were provided as to why the case took five months to be brought before the court. – Lena
