Rape Tops List of Sexual Offences

ODPP RAPE AND SEXUAL OFFENCES STATISTICS – MARCH 2018

Rape offences continue to dominate the list of sexual offences to be recorded by the ODPP

There were 14 people charged with a total of 26 counts of separate incidents in March. The offences were rape (19), indecent assault (2), and sexual assault (5).

The following data is authorised for release by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and relates to the number of formal indictments (Information) filed in the High Courts of Fiji by the Director of Public Prosecutions throughout the month. This data is confined to incidents of serious sexual offences only. Three accused persons charged with rape offences were under the age of 18 years. A 15-year-old was charged with the rape of his 9-yearold cousin and two 14-year-olds were charged with the rape of an 8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy in separate incidents.

There were 14 victims of the 26 separate incidents of whom 8 victims were under the age of 18 years. There were 2 male victims and 12 female victims while 13 accused persons were male and 1 accused person was female. There were 4 incidents where the victims and the accused were related to one another. In one incident, a 24-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 16-year-old stepsister in the Northern division. There was one incident of marital rape where a 38-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 38-year-old wife. The man was also charged with two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm. (NB: The offence of assault causing actual bodily harm is recorded separately).

A 21-year-old and an 18-year-old were charged with the rape of a 14-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy respectively. The accused persons and the victims were neighbours.

There was one incident where a 38-year-old female was charged with the rape of her 25-year-old flatmate in the Western division. There was one incident where a 26-year-old man was charged with rape, sexual assault and the abduction of a 12-year-old girl. (NB: The offence of abduction is recorded separately).

In another incident, a 23-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of a United States national, however this matter was withdrawn due to the inability to locate the victim.

Three cases were withdrawn after discontinuances (Nolle Prosequi) were filed. One of the cases was discontinued due to a false complaint and the other two were discontinued due to the victims not being located.

Refer to the table entitled ODPP Rape and Sexual Offences March 2018 for a break-down of these statistics.