Mukono — A 65-year-old man in Mukono district was on Wednesday sentenced to 12 years in prison for defiling a nine-year-old girl.

Vincent Ziryawulawo, a resident of Kabawala Village in Nabbaale sub-county was convicted after he pleaded guilty to the offence, saying he did it under the influence of alcohol.

Prosecution told the court that on December 24, 2004, Ziryawulawo defiled the girl from her grandmother's place where he had gone to take beer. The girl's grandmother had gone to buy meat for christmas, the court heard.

Ziryawulawo's lawyer, Kafuko Ntuuyo pleaded for leniency, saying his client was old, diabetic, had 16 children and an old wife whom he had to cater for.

Justice Irene Kakooza said the act exposed the girl to the risk of catching HIV/AIDS.

She said there was need for a deterrent sentence to reduce the increasing cases of defilement.