Court frees defilement convict, says little girl enjoyed the sex

A Kenyan High Court judge has come under attack following his controversial ruling in which he set free a defilement convict who had appealed against his initial 20-year jail term.

A report by Tuko.co.ke indicated that 24-year-old Martin Charo had been jailed for 20 years after a court initially found him guilty of sleeping with a 13-year-old girl on numerous occasions.

However, the now ex-convict filed an appeal against the ruling. At the end of the appellate proceedings on Wednesday, May 23, Justice, Said Chitembwe who presided over the Malindi high court said the victim did not show any sign of disapproval to the sexual activity with the man, neither did she report it to anyone.

In his view the girl’s silence over the act and its frequency implies that she was fully enjoying the sex.

The judge quote the East African country’s Sexual Offences Act under which he said it was not the obligation of Martin Charo to go round trying to confirm the age of the victim vbefore having sex with her.

Justice Said Chitembwe said “age becomes a non-issue and the girl seemed not to have been complaining”.

Explaining his reasoning, the high court judge said courts will be unjustly putting men in prison for alleged defilements if they fail to take into consideration the conduct and mannerism of the victims involved.

He added that if verdicts regarding defilement are based only on the age of victims and the fact that there has been a sexual act involving them, girls could take undue advantage of the system to get men imprisoned as and when it pleases them.

Justice Said Chitembwe admitted that having listen to the testimony of the victim it was tempting to conclude that she was actually defiled, but a comprehensive review of her conduct in the entire so-called defilement cast doubt on her credibility.

Ironically, just few hours prior to the controversial rung, a 24-year-old Judith Wandera from the same Kenya had been jailed for 15 years after a court found her guilty of having sex with a 16-year-old male minor who she claimed she had not known was underage.

Court frees defilement convict, says little girl enjoyed the sex

A Kenyan High Court judge has come under attack following his controversial ruling in which he set free a defilement convict who had appealed against his initial 20-year jail term.

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