A pastor accused of raping his then 15-year-old niece has been convicted by the High Court in Lautoka.
The accused, who’s married and has a son, was convicted of two counts of indecent assault and a count each of rape and sexual assault which occurred between October 27 and 28 four years ago.
Court records show the sexual crimes committed against the victim occurred at the man’s residence in Rakiraki while his wife had gone to drop off their son at school.
The other incident occurred when she asked her uncle to take her to her cousin in Ba. He refused and instead took her to Lautoka to see a mechanic.
The mechanic later turned up with a carton of beer. Both men began drinking while the victim fell asleep in the vehicle. When she woke up her drunk uncle was assaulting her. The mechanic saw the assault but did nothing and went back into his house.
She was only able to escape after kicking her uncle in his private parts, leaving him unconscious.
“The evidence of the defence is not appealing to me,” Justice Aruna Aluthge ruled on November 11.
“I am not convinced that the complainant lodged a false report against her uncle.
“The accused was not consistent in his evidence. He was just trying to save his skin in the face of the serious charges levelled against him.”
