A 65-YEAR-OLD man, who threatened a 13-year-old boy with a cane knife before attempting to rape him, has been jailed for eight years.
The man was convicted after trial of attempted rape and sentenced by Justice Lee James Burney at the High Court in Labasa earlier this month.
The court heard that on May 2, 2025, the boy went with a friend to the man’s home to collect bele.
After sending the friend away, the man told the boy to get vaseline from his bedroom before pushing him onto a bed and threatening to chop him with a cane knife if he did not remain still.
The boy became frightened and wanted to leave. The man threatened the boy not to tell his friend about what had happened.
The judge rejected the man’s age and health as mitigating factors, despite him being 65 and having suffered a heart attack and hearing problems.
Justice Burney said serious sexual offending against children by elderly and infirm men was prevalent and stressed the need to protect children.
He must serve a non-parole period of four years and eight months before he is eligible for parole.
