The Fiji Court of Appeal has reduced the jail term of an 80-year-old man by two years on four counts of rape.

On June 26, 2020, the High Court in Lautoka sentenced him to 17 years and he filed an appeal against his sentence, claiming the jail term was excessive.

“The appellant complains of double counting in the sentencing process. The trial judge had picked 13 years as the starting point and added six years for aggravating factors,” said Justice C Prematilaka in his May 30 ruling.

“The complaint is that the aggravating factors such as breach of trust (the appellant was considered the head of the family in the absence of LT’s father).

“Age difference of 56 years (LT was 12 years when the first act of rape took place and the appellant was 68 years).

“Planning (acts or attempted acts of sexual abuse took place in the night while others were asleep), exposure of LT to sexual abuse at a young age.

“(These) may have been considered in selecting the starting point of 13 years based on supposed ‘objective seriousness’ of the offending and the same had been considered again in increasing the sentence by 6 years.

“The appellant cannot be said to have had a perfectly good record or good character to prop up his age as an effective mitigating factor.

“Thus, one may say that he had received an undeserving reduction of 1 year for having been a first offender or for good character.”

Justice Prematilaka set 15 years, 8 months and 25 days as the new jail term with a non-parole period of 12 years, eight months and 25 days of imprisonment with effect from June 26, 2020.