By A Correspondent

The courts are sending a strong message to paedophiles who destroy children’s lives, with the recent incarceration of two men who were convicted and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment each.

Protecting children against paedophiles is being prioritised by the courts, with lengthy custodial sentences being handed down.

In one recent case, a 32-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping his four-year-old niece.

The abuse was reported by a neighbour who overheard the child telling a friend about the incident, leading to the man’s arrest.

Another case involved a 24-year-old man from Mutare who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging and raping a nine-year-old girl in his car.

The offender kidnapped the child, forced her to drink alcohol, and then raped her. The girl’s mother discovered the abuse after noticing that her child had contracted a sexually transmitted disease.

In a particularly disturbing case, a 23-year-old man was arrested and arraigned in court for allegedly raping his one-year-old daughter.

The man was left babysitting while his wife carried out household chores, and it is alleged that he removed the baby’s diaper and raped her once.

The child’s mother discovered the abuse when she entered the room and found her child lying on the floor, bleeding with her diaper removed. The accused was remanded in custody pending his trial, set for next month.