Judge reduces jail term for defilement suspect from 20yrs to 5yrs

A man charged with defilement will now serve 5 years in jail instead of the initial 20 years after a Chuka court reduced his prison sentence.

Dennis Kibaara was charged with defiling a 13-year-old girl two years ago.

The prosecution stated that the defendant had allegedly kidnapped the girl, taken her to Chogoria and defiled her.

He was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in jail but appealed the court’s decision.

During the appeal, the accused pleaded for a reduction in the sentence arguing that at the time of the offence, he was 19 years and the girl was his partner.

High Court Judge Robert Limo maintained that Kibaara was still guilty of the offence.

“Under Section A part three of the Legal Act, it is an offence for the defendant to sleep with an underage despite the fact that the victim was willing.”

However, the Judge reduced the sentence to five years on grounds that the suspect might have been uncertain about the age of the victim.

Report by Lisper Kithure