Two police officers have been found guilty of raping a 17-year-old girl in the back of a marked police vehicle while on mobile patrol duty in Savusavu.
Justice Lee James Burney convicted the officers at the High Court in Labasa following the incident, which occurred between April 12 and 13 last year.
Court records show that the victim, an Australian resident, who was visiting family, had been at a local nightclub before the assault.
After fleeing a nearby park out of fear when police officers asked her for identification, she became exhausted and was assisted by a local youth who gave her water.
The two officers subsequently intercepted the pair. They told the victim that her uncle was looking for her and instructed her to get into the police vehicle. Trusting the officers, she complied, expecting to be driven home.
Instead, the officers drove her to a secluded area past a junction on the Savusavu-Labasa Road, where both men took turns raping her in the back seat.
The officers admitted that sexual intercourse took place but maintained that it was entirely consensual and initiated by the victim.
The defence further suggested that the victim fabricated the allegations to protect herself from her mother’s anger regarding her late return home.
Justice Burney, however, rejected the men’s arguments, stating he was sure the victim had provided truthful and reliable evidence, and that she did not consent to the sexual acts.
The men have 30 days to appeal the conviction to the Court of Appeal.
