A lecturer at Bomet University College has been arrested for allegedly defiling a 17-year-old girl for three days at a house in Chelsea area of Bomet town.
The suspect reportedly locked the victim in the house while her elder sister, with whom she lived, was away attending a graduation ceremony at Moi University in Eldoret.
A neighbour who heard the victim knocking on the window of the house responded to her distress call and alerted the police, leading to her rescue and the suspect's arrest.
“The girl had been knocking on the window of the rental house trying to catch the attention of the neighbours. One person responded and informed the police of the incident,” Bomet Central Sub-County Police Commander Musa Imamai said on Monday.
She was taken to Bomet Health Centre where medical tests confirmed that she had been defiled. She was later transferred to Longisa County Referral Hospital for further medical examination.
The victim told police that she had been living with her elder sister when the lecturer took advantage of her absence.
“She claims the man defiled her for three days, locking her indoors whenever he left the house,” Mr Imamai said.
The lecturer was later arrested and detained at Bomet police station pending investigations into the incident.
“We will present the lecturer in court to face charges of defiling the girl,” Mr Imamai said as he condemned the incident.
Cases of defilement and rape have been on the rise in the region and Bomet County Commissioner Ahmed Omar said measures had been put in place to deal with the suspects.
Dr Omar said three weeks ago that cases of gender-based violence would be dealt with according to the law and urged residents to report incidents.
He said it had emerged that some residents were hiding cases of rape, defilement and gender-based violence instead of reporting them to administrators and police so that action could be taken against the suspects.
