RAPIST GRANDAD GETS 11 YEARS FOUR MONTHS SENTENCE

A 68-year-old grandfather has been sentenced to 11 years and four months imprisonment with a non-parole period of seven years and four months.

The man, who had to walk with the help of a walking stick, appeared before Suva High Court Judge Justice Riyaz Humaz yesterday.

He was charged with one count of indecent assault and three counts of rape of his granddaughter between August 1 and December 31, 2013. The grandfather was 65-years-old at the time of the alleged incident while the victim, who lived with the accused during the school holidays, was 14-years-old.

The accused, during his confession with a church pastor on November 27, 2013, admitted that he committed the offence because he did not have sex with his wife for more than six months.

While sentencing the grandfather, Justice Humza told him that as the victim’s grandfather, he should have protected her.

“You took care of her when her father passed away in 2000 and her mother remarried,” Justice Humza said. “You should have taken a good care of her; instead you had breached her trust.” The court also heard that the man was a first offender and had been remanded in custody for one year and eight months for the case.

Justice Humza initially gave a sentence of 13 years with a non-parole period of nine years. Considering the fact that the man was in remand for the case for one year and eight months, the sentence was reduced to 11 years and four months imprisonment.