33-year-old man jailed 13 years for defiling and impregnating own daughter

33-year-old man jailed 13 years for defiling and impregnating own daughter

Luweero, Uganda | URN | The High Court in Luweero has sentenced a man to 13-years in jail for defiling and impregnating his own daughter. Charles Minani, 33, a resident of Kidolindo village in Bamunanika sub-county pleaded guilty to the charges.

The Prosecution led by Beatrice Alok Odongo, the Luweero Resident State Attorney told the court that during the month of August 2016, Minani unlawfully performed sexual acts with his daughter, then aged 12, despite being her biological father.

However, Alok told the court that Minani had entered into a plea bargain with the state and agreed to accept a 13-year jail sentence as the punishment for the act.

Plea bargaining is a negotiated agreement between the prosecution and an accused person represented by a lawyer. Once a deal is struck, the accused person is brought before a judge to plead guilty to the charges against him or her in exchange for a lesser sentence.’

The High Court Judge Vincent Okwang sitting in Luweero town charged Minani for aggravated defilement and sent him to jail on his own conviction. He, however, said the period of three years, two months and twenty-five days already spent on remand shall be deducted from the sentence.

Defilement cases have topped the court session presided over Justice Vincent Okwang.

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At least 22 out of 46 cases being handled in the session are defilement cases, followed by 15 cases of murder and four cases for robbery, among others. The same high court is hearing another case where one Robert Obala is accused of defiling his own 4-year-old daughter.

According to Police Annual crime report for 2018, a total of 15,366 female juveniles and 228 male juveniles were defiled in 2018. Defilement was ranked the second leading crime in Uganda after common assaults during the year.