Columbus S. Mavhunga of CNN is reporting that police in Zimbabwe have charged three women with 17 counts of aggravated indecent assault in a case that may be a break in a string of sex attacks over the past two years by women targeting male hitchhikers.
Prosecutor Michael Reza told a court in Harare that the counts were for each of the 17 men who had positively identified the women as having sexually assaulted them in 2010 or 2011.
The women, all of them in their mid-20s, were arrested Sunday in Gweru, about 186 miles south of Harare, when their car was involved in an accident. Police found 33 condoms containing semen in the women's car. Mavhunga reports:
"Since Monday, 17 men came and positively identified the women as having raped them," said a police official in Harare who refused to be identified. "Most of the men said the women would offer a drink either laced with something to tranquilize them or were forced at gunpoint."
The prosecution identified the suspects as Rosemary Chakwizira, 24, Sophie Nhokwara, 26, and her sister, Netsai Nhokwara, 24, who are being held in custody until their next court appearance on Oct. 28. The women are suspected of using the sperm for ritual purposes or to eliminate bad luck.
If they were using the sperm to eliminate bad luck, then clearly their luck just ran out, if they are proven to be the attackers. Rape is a horrible crime whether the victim is male or female. Hopefully the punishment will fit the crime if these three women are found guilty.
Read more at CNN.
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