Addis Abeba: Man sentenced to 25 years for raping his cousin

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On Thursday the Lideta First Instance Court 7th criminal bench sentenced a man to 15 years in jail for the depraved rape of a family member.

Getachew Teshome, 25, was charged with raping his cousin, a nine-year-old girl, almost a year ago in their home around Gotera.

The suspect denied the charges brought against him by the Kaliti Sub city prosecutor Martha Girma, and brought three witnesses to testify in his favor.

The witnesses swore that Getachew was with them on the day of the alleged crime, and said that the victim could not be found and that her family was searching for her.

After hearing the testimonies the court explained that it could not find relevance in the witness statements, as they could not clarify at what time they were with the suspect. Due to this the court could find no reason to assume that the suspect did not commit the crime.
Medical documents and witnesses of the public prosecutor were enough to convince beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was guilty, according to the presiding judge Abeba Alemu.
After after hearing both sides and considering his good behavior and the fact that he has a family to support the court sentenced him to 15 years in prison, with his social rights to be suspended for

five years. The court concluded that he has the right to appeal.

Reporter

By Bezawit Zegeye