He said on the particular day, the victim was coming from a nearby village where she went to play with friends and on her way she met the convict who grabbed her into a nearby bush and committed the offence.

Luhanga said the victim reported the matter to her sister who had gone to run errands away from the village during the time of the defilement.

“Relatives tried to resolve the matter at village level but this did not go well with the victim’s parents who reported the matter to police leading to Lemon’s arrest,” said Luhanga.

A medical test in June at Malomo Health Centre revealed that the girl was four months pregnant.

In his ruling late last week, First Grade Magistrate Yohane Nkhata said the offence is serious in nature hence the offender deserved a stiff sentence to serve as a caution to other would-be offenders.

Lemon comes from Chizewe Village in the area of Traditional Authority Chilooko in the district.