A 24-YEAR-OLD man convicted of sexually violating his 11-year-old cousin has been sentenced to 11 years in jail with a non-parole period of six years and nine months.
Justice Lee James Burney of the High Court in Lautoka found the man guilty of two counts of rape of a child under the age of 13 years.
On the same occasion, on a date between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022, he raped the child.
Records show that on the day in question, the victim’s parents left her and her siblings in the care of the man’s mother when they went to uproot yaqona in the forest.
That evening, the bell rang for devotion at around 6pm, after which the victim had dinner together with the man and his family. After dinner, his mother told the victim to get a pot from her house, which is some distance away, so her father’s food could be kept in it. She then took a torch on her way out since it was dark.
The court heard that as she placed the torch on the kitchen sink, the man held her shoulders from behind and threatened to slap her if she told anyone about what he was about to do.
He then raped her despite her pleas to stop. After violating her, he told her to get dressed and to take the pot to his mother.
In his ruling, Justice Burney said: “You are a young first offender, albeit the offences you have committed are of the utmost gravity.”
“I do not consider it necessary or appropriate to ‘warehouse’ you. In my view, you should be given every opportunity to avail yourself of opportunities for rehabilitation.”
