THE Kasama High Court yesterday handed down a 25-year jail sentence on a man who defiled his 14-year-old stepdaughter and made her pregnant.

Judge Isaac Chali, in sentencing Sunday Bwalya, 42, of Kasama said he was imposing a harsh sentence because the man had abused people's trust by molesting the girl who was in his care.

"It appears stepchildren are no longer safe and this is the more reason to put you away from your family for a long time," Mr Justice Chali said.

Particulars of the case were that between 2009 and 2010, Bwalya had been proposing love to his stepdaughter every time her mother was away.

He then lured her into a bush where he had unlawful carnal knowledge of her.

The abuse continued over a period of one year until the girl became pregnant.

When the stepfather was informed by his wife that the girl was pregnant, Bwalya responded that she was not and that her bulging stomach was a result of having eaten too much nshima.

However, the girl revealed that Bwalya had been threatening her life if she told anyone that he had been having carnal knowledge of her.

Citing comments made by the subordinate court during Bwalya's trial, Mr Justice Chali said: "The trial magistrate noted that the country seemed to be throwing cultural norms away as there were many sex workers whose services Bwalya's could have sourced to 'offload' himself."

And the same court sentenced another man of Chinsali to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling his 14-year-old stepdaughter.