The High Court in Suva has sentenced a 51-year-old man to 10 years in jail for raping his niece on two occasions in a village in the Lomaiviti group.

The man who is the young woman’s father’s brother committed the offences in January 2013 when he was in his 40s and the victim only 18 years old.

The man had appealed the Court of Appeal’s judgment to set aside his acquittal following an appeal by the State in 2015.

In June this year, the Supreme Court dismissed the man’s appeal and affirmed his convictions.

High Court judge Justice Daniel Goundar said the man grossly breached the niece’s trust.

“The commission of the offences involved planning by you to avoid suspicion or detection by other family members,” Justice Goundar said.

“During sexual intercourse, the complainant experienced physical pain and was traumatised. The rape was repeated and the Court of Appeal found that the complainant was coerced into consenting on both occasions because you held a position of authority over her,” he added.

After an adjustment in his sentence to reflect his period in remand and delay in disposing the case, the man was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of seven years.