A 44-year-old man who sexually abused his 10-year-old step daughter numerous times this year has been jailed for more than 16 years by a high court in Labasa.
The man and his wife adopted the victim when she was around seven years old after her father died and her biological mother re-married.
Court documents showed that the man had been sexually abusing the victim since March, but the matter only came to light late May after an aunt of the victim saw her and the man in their kitchen. Enquiries were made during which she told them that her stepfather had raped her on two previous occasions – including a day before the kitchen incident when her step mother was away in town.
Sentencing the man, high court Judge Justice Daniel Goundar imposed a 14-year non-parole period and a permanent domestic violence restraining order with standard no contact and non-molestation condition.
