HARARE: A Christian Apostolic Faith church founder will live to regret his depravity after he was slapped with an effective 23-year jail term for raping a 12-year-old co-tenant.

Abel Gapiti, 60, of 805 Soane Square, Highlands was jailed last week by magistrate Elijah Makomo who said it was disturbing to note that such cases involving clerics were on the rise.

Prosecutor Ephraim Zinyandu proved that Gapiti committed the offence on four different occasions between September 2017 and January this year.

Court heard that first raped the juvenile in his house after they were left alone at the premises.

The cleric summoned the girl to his room and raped her once without using protection. He went on to give her 25 cents to buy some snacks, ordering her to keep the abuse a secret.

On the second and third count, Gapiti sneaked into the bathroom when the complainant was bathing and raped her.

Court heard that on another occasion, Gapiti took the girl to a neighbour’s house which is still under construction and raped her once. However, another co-tenant saw Gapiti committing the offence and alerted the girl’s mother.

The complainant then revealed that Gapiti had abused her on four different occasions. The case was reported to the police, leading to his arrest