A fifty year old accused of raping, threatening, and impregnating his then 14-year-old neighbour has been convicted by the High Court in Labasa.
High Court judge Justice Lee James Burney found the man guilty of a count each of rape and sexual assault.
Records showed that the victim had known the accused for a long time and addressed him as “uncle”. He would often ask her to go to the shop for him.
Some time between October 1 and October 31, 2023, the accused called her and gave her $5, which she thought was to be spent at a shop. However, he grabbed her collar and pulled her into his house where he allegedly raped her.
The accused threatened to kill her if she shouted or cried.
The matter only came to light when her mother took her to the hospital for a check-up where they learnt that she was seven to eight months pregnant.
The accused, in his defence, claimed the victim kept pestering him to have sex with him, which he said was consensual.
“After carefully considering all the evidence, I find the complainant to be a truthful and reliable witness,” Justice Burney ruled.
“I have no hesitation in accepting her testimony about what the accused did to her one morning in the month of October 2023.”
