THE Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a former police officer, affirming his conviction for raping a 19-year-old female colleague at a police barracks.
The judgment was delivered by Supreme Court president Justice Salesi Temo, alongside Justices Anthony Gates and Lowell Goddard.
The court heard that the victim was taking a shower on September 19, 2021, when she recognised the officer’s voice asking her to open the bathroom door. He said he wanted to seek forgiveness.
She later opened her room door after he repeatedly asked to speak to her. While she was looking for a T-shirt, he grabbed her from behind, threw her onto the bed and threatened her before raping her despite her protests.
He warned her that it would not be the last time before leaving.
The victim went to work for her night shift without reporting the incident because she felt embarrassed. She confided in a close female colleague the following day, and the matter was reported to police.
The officer was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to seven years, 10 months, and 20 days’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of seven years and two months.
In the Supreme Court judgment, Justice Gates rejected the officer’s arguments that the victim was inconsistent, unreliable, and untruthful, and that the trial judge had failed to properly consider an alleged motive for her to lie, identification evidence and the treatment of the prosecution and defence cases.
The court found no merit in the appeal and affirmed the conviction.
