Italian man, 75, in court for allegedly defiling Standard Seven girl

A 75-year-old Italian was on Thursday charged in a Shanzu court, Mombasa, with defiling a 15-year-old Standard Seven pupil.

Mr Pancino Renato, who claims to be running an orphanage in Kilifi County, faced an additional charge of committing an indecent act with the minor on January 6.

He initially pleaded guilty but changed his mind after Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo asked his advocate to clearly explain to him the offence he was charged with, and the penalty upon conviction.

He claimed that the girl had lied to him that she was 18.

Mr Renato is alleged to have lured the girl, who comes from a poor background, with a promise that he would pay her school fees.

According to the police, when she went to his apartment to collect the money, he gave her yoghurt laced with a drug to knock her out and then defiled her.

“When I regained consciousness, I found myself naked. He had sexually assaulted me,” the minor said in her statement to the police.

Kilifi South Sub-County Police Commander Esau Ochorokodi said police raided the man’s apartment and found him with her following a tip-off by residents who had seen her entering the apartment alone.

The police boss said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect had been luring suspects to his house with promises of paying for their education.

The suspect has been remanded for three days to allow police to collect DNA samples from him.

State Counsel Nyawinda Oyugi opposed bail and asked that the suspect deposit his passport with the court pending further investigations.

The case will be mentioned on January 13.