Masaka High Court on Friday sentenced a 72-year-old man to 12 years imprisonment for defiling a six-year-old girl.
High Court Judge, Justice Victoria Nakintu Katamba, sentenced Fred Muswogo, after pleading guilty to the offence.
The Masaka Resident State Prosecutor, Richard Willy Bomboka, told court that Muswogo, a resident of Kamese landing site in Kalangala district committed the offense on June 26, 2018 when he locked the minor in his house and defiled her.
Mr Bomboka said that by the time Muswogo committed the offense, the minor had gone to his home to play with her fellow children that lived in the neighbourhood.
The prosecutor said that cases of defilement are high in the region asking the court to give Muswogo a heavy punishment that will deter other men from committing such a crime since it is court’s duty to protect children’s rights.
Defense lawyer, Brenda Ainomugisha, told the court that Muswogo is a first-time offender and he seems to be remorseful for the crime he committed asking court to give him a simple sentence since he did not even waste court’s time.
Ms Ainomugisha also told court that Muswogo had spent two years and seven months on remand adding that since he is an elderly person, he should be given a simpler jail term he can serve and go back home given that he is the sole breadwinner of his family.
The presiding judge said that Muswogo violated the trust the minor had in him as an older person and took away her innocence by defiling her something which affected her physically and physiologically.
She said that she has considered the fact that he has spent two years and seven months in prison, thus, sentencing him to spend more nine years and five months in prison to make it 12 years.
“You have been convicted on your own plea of guilty to the offence of defilement. Considering the mitigating factors, you will serve nine years and five months starting today (Friday). However, you have a right to appeal the ruling within 14 days,” the judge ruled.
