Senior Resident Magistrate Rodrick Michongwe of Zomba registry has sentenced Leonard Maurice, 20, to 16 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling a 6-year-old girl.

State Prosecutor Sub Inspector Peter Sosola told the court that Maurice dragged the child into the nearby bush where he defiled her on March 6, 2020.

Maurice was arrested after the girl disclosed the ordeal upon being questioned by mother after noticing bleeding in her daughter’s private parts.