A sixty-four- year-old man has been sentenced to 16 years and 11 months imprisonment for raping his niece.
The offender will have to serve 14 years and 11 months before he may be considered eligible for parole.
The court was told the offender committed the acts between April 21 to 26 and April 27 to October 31, 2021
In handing down the sentence at the High Court in Ba, Justice Samuela Qica said the victim was 12 years old and the offender 61 when the incidents occurred.
Justice Qica said the victim’s mother noticed a change in her body when she attended a funeral in 2022, and the victim then told her what the offender had been doing to her.
A medical check-up was conducted on the victim, and it was discovered that she was 30 weeks pregnant.
In mitigation, the defence submitted that the offender:
n pleaded guilty;
n is a first offender;
n married to a 64-year-old sickly wife; and
n has several medical conditions as per his medical report.
The court was told he was remorseful and had apologised to the victim and her mother in court.
Justice Qica said the aggravating factors were: the breach of trust as the victim was the offender’s niece;
n the prevalence of similar offences against children;
n the age difference between the two;
n the incidences occurring over a period of six months from April 2021 to October 2021; and
n the offender’s actions led the victim to conceive at 13 years old and give birth.
“Additionally, the court is also imposing on you restraining orders pursuant to sections 27 and 29 of the Domestic Violence Act 2009,” Justice Qica said.
The offender has 30 days to appeal his sentence at the Court of Appeal in Suva.
