“Where the appropriate penalty is beyond the ceiling of penal powers of the trial court, it shall, after conviction, send the case to the High Court for sentence.” [2] Not only did the accused plead guilty to the charge, but he also accepted the outline of the evidence by the prosecutor as being a true reflection of the facts. In brief, it was alleged that on or about the 19 th May 2013, and at or near ha Khopa in the district of Leribe, the accused unlawfully and intentionally committed a sexual act with a minor child aged 7 years. [3] The evidence revealed that this took place again at a later date and on both occasions, the accused allegedly called the child and told her that “they should do bad things” upon which he would undress her and insert his penis into her vagina and then sent her to play. The accused is also reportedly related to the minor child. It is after the second incident that the minor child reported the matter to one Mpho who in turn informed the child’s mother. [4] I have already shown that the court a quo convicted the accused for contravention of section 9 of the Act. The section provides that a person who persistently abuses a child sexually commits an offence. [5] It is against this background that Counsel for the Defence made the submission that the court a quo did not have the jurisdictional powers to try the accused because at the time she was a Magistrate of second class.