A 66-YEAR-old man who raped a girl in a cassava plantation was yesterday told that he took advantage of the victim’s helplessness because nobody was there to look after her.
High Court judge Justice Vinsent Perera sentenced the man to 15 years and nine months imprisonment.
Justice Perera told the rapist that he had breached the trust that was reposed in him by the complainant.
The offence took place between 2013 and 2016 when the victim was staying with the man’s family. An arrangement was made for the victim to stay with the man’s family because the victim’s mother had died and her father was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The man first raped the girl at his own home in Ba when she was 11 years old. Justice Perera said the man’s wife and relatives were aware of what had happened but she had called her a liar.
The High Court judge said he considered the serious breach of trust and the age gap between the victim and the man as aggravating factors.
The rapist will be eligible for parole after 12 years and nine months behind bars.
