A 56-year-old man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for raping his 16-year-old niece twice in 2019 and again in 2021.
The High Court of Lautoka heard that while at a beach party at Wailoaloa in Nadi, the perpetrator followed the victim when she went to relieve herself in the bushes nearby. He used a cutter against her neck while with his other hand, he stripped her pants and raped her. He later threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the rape.
In 2021, he again went to her house and told her to go with him to Masimasi a community in Nadi. He raped her again and this time the victim told her older sister as soon as she got back home. The duo went to the police station after that to report the rape.
In sentencing the man, Judge Sunil Sharma told him that he has traumatised the girl for life.
“You cannot be forgiven for what you have done to the victim. I am lost for words. You are a shame to society. It was your lust for sexual gratification that you sexually abused the victim. Considering the culpability of the accused and circumstances of the offending a long term imprisonment is inevitable.”
“Rape is not only a physical act. It destroys the very soul of the victim. You have scarred the victim forever.”
“You have committed a serious offence against your niece whom you were called to protect and look after. The victim was unsuspecting, vulnerable and she trusted you.”
The man will serve 13 years before he will be considered for parole.
