A MAN jailed for 15 years for raping a teenage girl whom he alleged was his bride has lost his appeal against his conviction, but succeeded in reducing his term of imprisonment by 15 months.
The Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday dismissed Kasenge Bangu’s appeal against his conviction for rape of the 15-year-old Zambian girl, who said that he had locked her up in a house in Wexford and raped her there and in Dublin, resulting in her becoming pregnant. The girl denied his claim that they were married, or that the sex was consensual.
While rejecting his appeal, the appeal court brought forward by 15 months his release by agreeing to backdate the 15-year sentence imposed on him, from April 2005 to January 2003, to take into account time Bangu spent in custody in Zambia, where he faced trial in 2004 for similar charges.
Bangu (47), from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was convicted on four charges of raping the then 15-year-old at an address in Wexford on dates from November 20th to December 7th, 2002. The girl became pregnant and was assisted by the HSE to have an abortion in England.
Mr Justice Barry White imposed a 15-year sentence on each of the four counts of rape, to run concurrently. He suspended the final two years to reflect the time Bangu spent in custody.
Bangu, through counsel John Phelan SC, appealed against his conviction on several grounds, including that the trial judge inadequately summed up the defence case to the jury. Mr Phelan also argued the 15-year term was excessive on grounds that Bangu had no previous convictions.