A 22-year-old woman, Mercy Chelanga, has been arraigned in court for allegedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy and luring him to drop out...
A 22-year-old woman, Mercy Chelanga, has been arraigned in court for allegedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy and luring him to drop out of school.
Chelanga, who works in a local bar at Ololulunga market in Narok North, appeared before Resident Magistrate Phyllis Shinyada where she was charged with holding the minor in her house for over a month.
According to court documents, the victim had been sexually assaulted from December 16, 2022, until Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
The boy's mother became suspicious after he started disappearing mysteriously from their home and launched an investigation.
She was later informed by well-wishers about her son's whereabouts, after which she went to Chelanga’s house and found him locked inside while the accused was at work.
The mother reported the incident, and the woman was arrested. The boy ran off into a nearby forest but was also nabbed later. The accused denied charges leveled against her, with the case set to be mentioned on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Sadly, this is not the first time such cases have been reported. In November 2022, a 28-year-old domestic worker in Eldoret was charged with defiling her employer’s six-year-old boy. Caroline Nyawira was accused of defiling the boy in Elgon View estate in Eldoret on an unknown date in October.
Ms. Nyawira also faced an alternative charge of touching the boy’s private parts. A statement from prosecutors said the woman enticed the boy with sweets before defiling him.
In another case, a house help was sentenced to a 10-year jail term for sexually harassing a three-year-old boy. Court heard that Susan Atieng Esme, 25, forced the boy to ‘taste’ her private parts. She was jailed without an option of a fine by Principal Magistrate Agnes Makau, who ruled that minors need the full protection of the law.
She admitted engaging in the forbidden act with the minor for a period of three months between January 7 and March 2022. She admitted to intentionally and unlawfully causing the minor to suckle her private parts.
Cases of sexual abuse of minors are rampant, and it is essential that justice is served to protect the vulnerable in society. Parents and guardians must also remain vigilant to prevent such heinous acts from happening.
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