Mohale’s Hoek, Aug.22- The court of the Magistrate has slapped a forty-five-year-old man Thabang Masia from Mpharane Ponts’eng with fifteen years imprisonment without an option of a fine, after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting a boy who was eleven years in 2021.
Evidence before the court indicates that the victim has been staying with his grandmother while the mother was working in Maseru, and on the day of the horrific incident the grandmother had sent both Masia and the boy to buy maize meal at shop, and on their way back Masia convinced the victim that they should take another way pretending it would get them home on time.
Upon crossing the donga, Masia who is the victim’s uncle assaulted the boy covering his mouth with a hand, and threatened to whip him with a barbed wire if he breathed a word to anyone, and the news were only known in 2024 when the victim’s mother discovered blood stains on the latter’s jeans when washing them, and confronted the boy who narrated the ordeal, stating it happened 4 times on different days.
When delivering his ruling, Resident Kakapa Tau stated that it is clear that children are not safe around Masia who also previous convictions of assaulting a boy around Ha Maphohloane, noting the sentencing would send a message to others.
The case was before Resident Magistrate Kakapa Tau and Adv. Boitumelo Khechane for prosecution.
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