A FIJIAN woman convicted of concealing the sexual abuse and pregnancy of her underage daughter in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), has had her eight-year prison sentence suspended under strict conditions.
The Kaselehlie Press, a Pohnpei-based newspaper, reported Miriama Naivalu Delai was found guilty of seven out of eight criminal charges, including conspiracy, solicitation, failure to report criminal activity, harassment, intimidation, psychological abuse, and unlawful confinement of a family member.
She was acquitted of failing to report child abuse after the court determined she was not a legally defined mandatory reporter under Pohnpei law.
The Pohnpei Supreme Court heard Delai went to extreme lengths to hide her daughter’s pregnancy and shield the offender — the girl’s own biological father and her husband — from justice.
The abuse only came to light after outside intervention, while the father has since been convicted and deported to Fiji after serving a prison sentence in Pohnpei.
Judge JD Anson handed down judgment on July 11, sentencing Delai to a total of eight years and $5500 in fines, with each sentence to run consecutively. However, the jail term was suspended, and Delai was placed on probation with several court-ordered conditions.
She’s been ordered by the court to obey all laws, surrender her passport, seek permission to travel outside Pohnpei, report quarterly to a court marshall, and pay all fines within the first two years of sentencing.
The Kaselehlie Press reported the case stirred public outrage in Pohnpei, and child welfare advocates are pushing for the victim’s repatriation to Fiji, where better psychological and social support may be available.
