A 29-year-old teacher has been sentenced to four years in prison without an option of a fine for raping a 17-year-old boy.
Wendy Dlamini of Madonsa, who was unemployed, was sentenced by Principal Magistrate David Khumalo at the Manzini Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
This was after she was charged with contravening Section 37 of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act 15/2018.
She committed the offence on February 27 in Manzini.
According to the charge sheet, Dlamini intentionally maintained a sexual relationship with the minor aged 17 years and thereby contravened the above cited Act.
She chose to conduct her own defence when her right to legal representation was explained to her and pleaded guilty. She was subsequently found guilty as per her own plea.
Dlamini mitigated for a lenient sentence based on the fact that she was a first-time offender.
She further stated that she had two children, whose father was deceased and they were both dependant on her for survival. She also sought the court’s leniency based on the fact that she was currently surviving on odd jobs.
According to statements recorded and submitted before court, Dlamini met the minor at a bar.
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The minor, whose name is known to this publication but will not be revealed to protect him as a survivor, had gone to the bar to assist his brother in his business.
It was not clear as to where Dlamini obtained the minor’s phone number; however, it was reported that soon after meeting him at the bar, she unexpectedly contacted him over the phone.
Thereafter, the pair is reported to have maintained constant communication for some time until they became an item.
After a while, Dlamini is alleged to have asked the minor to allow her to visit him in his room and at first he was reluctant, but as time went by, he finally yielded to her proposal.
It is reported that Dlamini became intimate with the minor on the first night she paid him a visit in his room and after that incident, they repeatedly engaged in unprotected sex on several occasions until the minor’s mother got wind of the illicit affair.
After being privy of the forbidden affair as per the provisions of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act, the mother is said to have reported the matter to the police, resulting in Dlamini’s arrest.
Meanwhile, it is said that prior to filing a formal complaint with the police, the minor’s mother had tried to warn Dlamini to terminate the relationship with her child, but she refused.
