The High Court in Labasa has convicted two men for abducting a trainee teacher from her school and transporting her to Savusavu, where one of them threatened and raped her.
One of the men, a 42-year-old father-of-two, is the victim’s former partner. He was tried jointly with a taxi driver for the offences which took place in April last year.
The woman’s former partner was convicted of breaching a Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) by abducting the victim, and multiple counts of rape.
The taxi driver was charged with abduction (with the first accused) and giving false information to police.
The prosecution’s case was that the victim was forcibly taken from a school by her former partner and put into a taxi driven by the second man.
She was driven to Savusavu and then confined at a hotel where she was threatened, controlled, and forced to have sex three times with her former partner.
The taxi driver was said to have facilitated the transport and later provided false information to the police regarding the victim’s movements.
Justice Lee James Burney found that he deliberately provided incorrect information to the police to mislead the investigation.
Justice Burney said the misinformation led police to search in the wrong location.
The court found the former partner’s version of events to be fabricated and described his account as inherently implausible and self-serving.
The duo are awaiting sentencing.
