A court has jailed a 21-year-old boda boda rider for 20 years for defiling a 13-year-old girl.
Oyugis Principal Magistrate Celesa Okore, in her ruling in a defilement case on Wednesday, said the law does not permit minors to engage in a sexual relationship and warned that she will not condone such acts.
Joseph Otieno Opiyo had denied the charges when he appeared in court.
However, the magistrate said she relied on evidence presented before her to convict Otieno.
Otieno is said to have defiled the girl in his house in Kawuor location on May 15, 2022.
He was faced with two charges: defilement and indecent touch.
Among the five witnesses who testified in the case was the girl, who said she had known the man for one year and they were in a relationship.
On the day Otieno was arrested, the minor had gone to visit him at Misambi trading centre in Rachuonyo East sub-county, following his invitation to visit his house.
The court was told that Otieno forcibly got hold of the girl, removed her clothes and defiled her on his bed.
She confirmed that she was known to Otieno and had gone to his house.
The court was further told that the girl would visit the man on other occasions where she would be defiled.
The man was busted by the victim’s father who was accompanied by a police officer and a local administrator.
Part of the investigation involved a medical examination of the girl, which proved that she had been defiled.
“She is a minor and it is prohibited by the law to give consent to such sexual activities. The accused took advantage of her age and went ahead to violate her,” the magistrate ruled.
She added that the convict committed the offence intentionally and that is why he lured the girl to his house.
“What the accused did was intentional and unlawful and should not be condoned,” Ms Okore said, while sentencing Otieno to 20 years in jail.
