Man jailed for life for defiling minor in Mombasa

A man was on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of defiling a 12-year-old girl and infecting her with HIV.

Joshua Aomo Ocharo will spend the rest of his life in prison for defiling the minor four times between the months of July and September 2015 in Bokole, Changamwe, Mombasa County.

Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate Martin Rabera said the court could show mercy on the accused.

“You are an adult whom the society entrusted with the responsibility to guide kids, but you breached the trust, you have bad manners,” said Mr Rabera.

The magistrate said the accused cannot be allowed to mingle freely in the society and hence the need for a harsh sentence to serve as a lesson to others and also to prevent him from doing more harm to other minors.

The court heard that the accused, who was a neighbour of the minor, defiled her and gave her Sh50 in the first incident and Sh100 the second time and warned her not to tell anyone.

The minor’s mother discovered her daughter had been defiled after she fell ill and tested HIV-positive at a hospital.

During trial, the court heard that the accused started taking anti-retroviral drugs in 2010 and was thus aware of his status.

The accused, in his defence, said the charges against him were false and that he never had any relationship with the minor.

In mitigation, he said he has a family with two children in university.