Sexually starved house maid abuses minor, infects him with STI
By Dumisani Ndlovu
A 20-year-old ‘sex starved’ housemaid in Gweru, Sitholokuhle Nyathi, was on Thursday jailed 15 years in prison after sexually abusing her boss’ 8-year-old son and infecting him with a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI).
The maid from Senga, who was charged of contravening section 66(1)(b)(i) of the Criminal Law Codification and reform act, chapter 9:23 was convicted as charged and slapped with a lengthy sentence by Regional Magistrate, Christopher Maturure, after found guilty to two counts of aggravated indecent assault.
The accused who was convicted on her own plea of guilty to both counts at a full trial pleaded with the magistrate to be merciful in passing her sentence.
In her plea which left the court gallery grumbling, Nyathi told the court that she committed the crime because she had gone for a longtime with no one to quench her sexual appetite. She however begged the court to be lenient when passing her sentence for she was the sole breadwinner to her one child and her paternal aunt who was ill and was not working.
In his submission the prosecutor, Sibangani Dube said indeed the crime was committed in aggravating circumstances.
“Since the accused was employed by the complaint’s parents were not in a position of trust but also in a position of authority. The accused took advantage of the minor’s vulnerability and in aggravation indecently assaulted him. He did not only betray the trust bestowed on her by her employer but also abused her authority by unlawfully and intentionally having an unprotected sexual intercourse with an 8-year-old minor,” said the Prosecutor Dube while strongly appealing to the court to pass a stiff deterrent sentence that will send a message to would-be offenders.
“In committing the crime, the accused did not only physically and emotionally abuse the vulnerable complainant but left permanent psychological scars. The fact that this happened at a home where the victim should be safe is a worrying fact. What makes the crime more aggravating is that the accused infected the complainant with an STI putting the minor at a Risk of contracted other related diseases, hence a stiffer deterrent sentence is the only option to such an illegal act,” said Prosecutor Dube.
Prosecutor Dube tendered a compiled medical report from the doctor and the complaint’s proof of age in the form of his birth certificate in court as an exhibit. The victim’s aunt also testified in the court.
Agreed facts are that in January 2024, the complainant’s mother (name withheld) employed the accused as a maid. The family arranged that during the night, the complainant and the accused would share the same spare bedroom.
On first count, on the dates unknown to the prosecutor at night, during the period from when the accused was employed to the end of March 2024, the accused who was sleeping close to the complainant began fondling his penis. The accused proceeded to insert the complainant’s penis inside her vagina and had unprotected sexual intercourse with the grade 2 minor who at law is not capable of consenting to sexual intercourse.
Using the same tactics, on yet an unknown date to the prosecutor and during the night, the accused Nyathi woke up her employer’s son and told the minor that it was cold and invited him to share blankets with her inside the spare bedroom. Failing to control his sexual libido, the sexually ‘hungry’ woman again fondled the complainant’s manhood before she made him lie on top of her whilst both were undressed. The sex enthusiast, Nyathi again inserted the minor’s penis inside her vagina and had unprotected sexual intercourse with complainant who at law is not capable of consenting to sexual intercourse. The complainant did not disclose to anyone about what had transpired.
Hell broke loose on the 30th of March 2024 when the complainant visited her aunt for the school holiday in Kwekwe. On the 31st of March 2024 the aunt (name supplied) entered the toilet soon after the complainant had finished urinating and discovered that the complainant’s urine was blood stained.
The worried aunt took the boy to the local clinic for a test and treatment and discovered that he had an STD and when he was questioned, he confessed what the maid had done to him. The aunt phoned and advised the complaint’s mother. A police report was filed at Senga police, leading to the arrest of the accused.
