Teacher’s Life Sentence Reduced To 25 Years In Defilement Case.
Following a successful appeal, the Eldoret High Court reduced a life sentence to 25 years for a defiler.
Hezron Kipkemoi Mutai, 50, a primary school teacher accused of defiling a three-and-a-half-year-old child, will now serve a 25-year prison sentence beginning March 11, 2020, the same date his life sentence was set to begin.
A lower court in Londiani sentenced the accused to life in prison after he was found guilty of defiling the minor on November 18, 2015, in the Londiani sub-county of Kericho County.
According to reports presented in court, he lured children to his house, which was located in the same compound where the minor stayed with her grandmother.
The incident occurred in the afternoon. The minor was familiar with the accused, so she was able to identify him easily, according to the court.
Denied
The teacher, on the other hand, claimed it was a staged case.
In his sworn defense, he denied the charges, claiming that he was at school on a relevant day. He did not, however, present his witnesses in court.
In his decision, Justice Hillary Chemitei stated that the appellant affirmed the offence of defilement against the accused and that the trial court’s sentence was proper.
However, he believed that a life sentence was indefinite, which contradicted established principles of certainty.
The accused was charged and convicted on two counts of defilement in violation of Sections 8(1) and (2) of the Sexual Offenses Act.
Dissatisfied with the sentence, he filed an appeal with the High Court in Eldoret in April 2020, claiming that the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. He also claimed he was not given enough time to defend himself.
He also claimed that the evidence against him was inconsistent and contradictory and that the issue of penetrating the minor was not properly established in court to support a conviction.
The appellant also challenged the minor’s unsworn affidavit and denied him a fair hearing, claiming that he was not given enough time to hire a lawyer and prepare for his defence.
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Justice Chemitei, for his part, stated that he found no fault with the trial court for not subjecting the minor to a sworn affidavit because the minor was traumatized and the law allows a child of tender age to testify even without a sworn affidavit.
The court determined that the prosecution’s evidence in court, including a medical report from the hospital and evidence from other witnesses, was corroborated, and that the accused suffered no prejudice.
“Consequently the appeal is dismissed, the life sentence imposed against the appellant is set aside and replaced with a custodial sentence of 25 years computed from March 11, 2020,” ruled Justice Chemitei.
Government concerned over rising cases of defilement as society remain adamant about sex-ed.
Teacher’s Life Sentence Reduced To 25 Years In Defilement Case
