A man who sexually assaulted, raped a 10-year-old girl in April this year and also took naked pictures of her has been jailed for 10 years by the Labasa High Court.
The accused, who is 63 years old and married with two children, was found guilty on two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
“Protection of the community is my overriding purpose in light of my concluded view that the offender is a danger to children in his community,” said Justice Lee Burney in his July 18 ruling.
“His offending involved an element of grooming and was repeated. Fortunately, his offending came to light before it escalated further.”
“In my view, the imperative to protect our children against the lascivious attentions of morally bankrupt old men requires sentencing courts to cast aside any qualms that elderly offenders may not outlive appropriate sentences.”
“By pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity, you have saved the court’s time and resources. Your child victim has been spared from the trauma of reliving at trial what you did to her.”
The judge set a non parole period of 6 years 6 months.
