Teenager rapes 5-year-old in church building

Zim Now Writer

A teenage from Rusape was caught red-handed raping a five-year-old girl in a Pentecostal church building recently.

The teenager was caught red-handed performing the act by a student pastor, Kudakwashe Mutangi.

Although Rusape District acting police spokesperson, Sergeant Theresa Maruza said she wanted to get finer details on the case before commenting, another police source who preferred anonymity said investigation into the matter were in progress.

“It is true that the case was reported here. I think they are doing due diligence because there is a procedure that has to be followed when dealing with minor accused persons.

“The liberty of the minor takes precedence and under the circumstances, the police cannot detain the suspect in custody. The suspect was therefore released into the custody of his parent or guardian,” said the police source.

Pastor Mutangi said he had gone to the church for an afternoon prayer with a colleague when he caught the 16-year-old.

The cleric said the suspect tried to escape through an open window but they stopped him before taking his clothes to prevent him from running away.

“This is a place of worship and it was disrespectful for the suspect to sexually abuse the defenceless victim in the church. There was a used condom with semen by the window seal,” he said.

Pastor Mutangi said he called the resident pastor who used his car to take the suspect and victim to Rusape Central Police Station for further management.

“We reported the matter to the police for further investigations, and it emerged that the little girl stays with her granny. From the look of things, this could be the tip of an iceberg,” he said.