A high court in Suva has sentenced a couple to over 13 years in jail for trafficking their daughter for sexual services six years ago.
The incident took place in 2018 at a motel in Nausori, when their daughter was 16 years old.
The man, aged 42, will serve 13 years, 10 months, and 15 days in prison, with a non-parole period of nine years, 10 months, and 15 days. His wife, who is also the victim’s stepmother and is in her 30s, has been sentenced to a total of 13 years and 11 months in prison. She will be eligible for parole after serving nine years and 11 months of her sentence.
The man was accused of raping his daughter twice, but the prosecution could not prove the charges during the trial.
The court could only prove and subsequently convict the couple for “transporting the victim who was the minor child [from their home in Koronivia to the motel in Waila] to provide sexual services.”
