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The
Child Law Watch-April 2008
Justice
for Children Trust
April 2008
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Life sentence
for HIV positive child rapist
A 37 year old HIV positive South African man was recently sentenced to
life for raping an 8 year old girl by a Pretoria High Court Judge. This
is widely regarded as an appropriate sentence for such an offense. In
this case the man raped the girl knowing quite well that he was positive
and he pleaded guilty and as such he indeed deserved a harsh sentence
to send a strong message deterrent to would be offenders.
In Zimbabwe the number of cases of child sexual abuse is really high and
if such deterrent sentences are passed, especially for those that involve
HIV infection, then we might see a drop in the number of cases, notwithstanding
the difficulties in proving that the rapist knew that he was HIV positive
at the time of the rape. By raping an 8 year old girl and in the process
infecting her with HIV, the man in question did not only traumatize the
girl but he also cut short her life and sentenced her to death.
The children we interact with in the schools always call for stiffer penalties
for child sexual offenders ranging from life imprisonment, death penalty
and even castration. Child rights activists have argued for stiffer sentences
in cases where the victim is infected with HIV to have a deterrent effect
to would be offenders. Statistics from the Rotten Row Criminal Magistrates
Court show that 47 cases were brought between January to 5 May 2008. The
highest sentence was 14 years imprisonment with 5 years suspended. There
is need for a concerted effort to lobby and advocate for the life sentence
for rapists infecting the child with HIV. For the South African case JUSTICE
WAS NOT ONLY DONE BUT WAS SEEN TO HAVE BEEN DONE.
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