A 24-year-old man of Bodibeng Village has been convicted by the Maun Magistrate’s Court for raping his ex-girlfriend in 2018.
The accused person was convicted against his plea of not guilty. The young man is said to have on the night of the 3rd July 2018 gone to the complainant’s house where she was sleeping with her boyfriend and began throwing stones on the roof.
Following the incident, the victim and her boyfriend then reportedly proceeded to find an alternative accommodation elsewhere but the accused person is said to have followed the couple and continued throwing stones at them.
He is reported to have then grabbed the complainant and dragged her to his house where he then raped her. Court heard that the accused person raped the victim despite her telling him that she was on her menstrual period.
The accused person was arrested the following morning where a bloody condom was recovered from his house while the victim was taken for medical assessment at Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital.
During trial, prosecution lined up six witnesses to give evidence while the accused person did not have any witness to support his defence.
When delivering the verdict, Chief Magistrate, Thebeetsile Mulalu noted that the accused person did not deny the rape allegations against him adding that he also failed to account as to why he was dragging the complainant to his house.
Mulalu added that he found the complainant to be a credible witness who was consistent with her statement during cross examination and gave her testimony in a consistent manner.
According to Mulalu, the accused person contradicted his key statements when he first claimed that he was in a love relationship with the complainant and that she had invited him to her house, but contradicted that statement during cross examination when he claimed that the complainant invited him to her house and promised to take him (accused) back.
“I therefore conclude that the accused person gave false information before court, he was not in a love relationship with the victim. Furthermore, evidence brought is that the complainant tried to find alternative accommodation to avoid the accused person,” Mulalu noted.
When giving her sworn testimony during trial, the complainant told court that the accused person raped her using a condom though she told him that she was on her menstrual period. She stated that on her attempt to call for help the accused person allegedly threatened to kill her.
In his defence the accused person disputed the rape allegations arguing that he was in a love relationship with the complainant. The accused person told court that he only dragged the complainant from where they were and left her at the gate of his home where the complainant willingly followed him from the gate to his house. He claimed that later after engaging in a consensual intercourse he took the complainant to her place.
A forensic analyst told court that a DNA test confirmed that there was sexual contact between the accused person and the victim.
Another state witness, the complainant’s boyfriend confirmed the incident and further testified that the accused person dragged the victim adding that he failed to assist his girlfriend since he was afraid of him.
The accused person’s bail has since been revoked and he will appear on the 1st November 2022 for mitigation and filing of his HIV results.
