Police in Dowa have arrested a 32-year-old woman for raping a 16-year-old boy.

The suspect has been identified as Eneles Kaunda from Mndekwa Village in the area of Traditional Authority Chiwere in Dowa District.

According to Police, on the day of the crime, the woman asked the boy to accompany her to a garden to help her check if there were thieves who usually steal from the garden.

On the way to the garden, the suspect gave the victim a crystal-like substance and told him to take with water. She then sexually abused the boy.

A person from a nearby garden witnessed the incident and reports reached the victim’s mother who asked the teenager about the incident.

The boy revealed the ordeal and the matter was reported to police.

“Upon arrest, the woman denied the allegation but the victim revealed that the suspect got the drug from a grocery within the village and this prompted police to rush to the grocery and upon searching in the grocery, additional suspected drugs were recovered which were identified by the victim while the grocery owner fled,” Dowa Police spokesperson Gladson M’bumpha said.

Meanwhile, the substance will be sent for analysis and identification.

The suspect will appear before court soon to answer a charge of child sexual abuse.