Judge's gavel in courtroom - (Photo: Courtesy).

The Gender-based violence court in Juba on Monday sentenced a man to 10 years in jail for defiling and impregnating a 16-year-old schoolgirl.

Mayom Madol Chur, 25, committed the crime in Lokwelili area of Juba City in 2021.

Upon indictment, Madol stated he wanted to marry the girl child according to his tradition.

But the court ruled that the teen mother is below the age of eighteen and did not have the reasoning capacity to make the right decision.

Judge Judge Francis Amum who presided over the case on Monday, December 5, 2022, said Madol violated section 247 of the South Sudan Penal Act 2008 which overrides the customary law.

Madol was obligated by the court to pay 1.5 million SSP as a reparation for the survivor according to the civil proceedings.

His lawyer was given 15 days to appeal against the judgment.