A man has been sentenced to five years in prison after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting his 13-year-old cousin in an incident that began under the guise of a school drop-off.

The sentence was delivered this week, bringing to a close a case that stemmed from events on the morning of October 26, 2022.

According to evidence presented during the trial, the defendant, who was in his early twenties at the time, offered to take the teenager to school, something he had reportedly done on previous occasions. However, the journey took a different turn.

Instead of heading directly to the school, the man drove around with another male relative in the vehicle before stopping at a market to drop him off. He then diverted to a secluded dirt road in the vicinity of the stadium, where the assault took place.

The matter went before a jury when the trial commenced in January. After hearing testimony and reviewing the evidence, jurors deliberated for approximately 90 minutes before returning unanimous guilty verdicts on charges of serious indecency and indecent assault.

During sentencing on April 1, the court imposed a five-year prison term for the offence of serious indecency and an additional one-year sentence for indecent assault. The judge ordered that both sentences be served concurrently.

In his defence, the accused gave an unsworn statement in which he admitted to driving his cousin that morning but denied any wrongdoing. He claimed he dropped her off at school and spent the remainder of the time running errands.

The jury ultimately rejected his account.