Man convicted of raping 5 year old girl

Lira, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Lira High Court has convicted a 22-year-old man for raping a 5-year-old nursery pupil.

Jasper Pule, a resident of Kole district was convicted on his own plea of guilty before Justice Duncan Gaswaga, the Lira Resident Judge.

Court found that in 2018, Pule while attending a traditional marriage in the neighborhood had sexual intercourse with the toddler who was sleeping in the house. The convict was discovered having anal sex with the toddler by the victim’s mother after she heard her baby crying in the house. The convict was immediately arrested and charged with aggravated rape.

On Tuesday, the convict told the court that he has completely changed and that he will never appear before any judge for any crime. He also prayed for leniency from the court during sentencing.

He begged: “My lord, I want you to know that I have since changed and I am a new person. This honorable court should show me mercy and give me a small sentence so that I can go home to sensitize the people there not to have sexual intercourse with children.”

Brian Kalinaki, the state prosecutor prayed to court to sentence the convict to life in prison because the victim was so vulnerable and suffered a tear in her anus which could have been fatal.

The prosecutor said: “My lord the way the act was done left the victim with a tear in her anal opening which, if was not well managed would result in fistula. This left the victim in everlasting trauma yet the accused never had any sympathy for the victim even when she was crying in pain. My Lord by the time of this offense, there was a 13-year age gap between the victim and the convict!”

Herbert Walusimbi, the defense lawyer who acknowledged that the offense committed is harsh said: “My Lord I concede that the manner the offense was committed was very harsh unfavorable however, I submit that the convict is remorseful and has always wanted to plead guilty to the charges but for the lack of a session like this he could not. He is still a young man who has chances to reform. We pray that this court is lenient in sentencing and we propose a custodial sentence of 7 years.”

Justice Duncan Gaswaga will deliver his sentence today.

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