Man Guilty of Raping Daughter Gets 17 Yrs

Judge tells father: You have scarred your own daughter

ANadi man who raped his nine-year-old daughter in 2015 was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment by the High Court in Lautoka yesterday.

The offender, 40, who was charged with one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault was produced before High Court Judge, Justice Sunil Sharma and was represented by his defence counsel, Kelly Vulimainadave under the instructions of Salvin Nand.

The State was represented by Prenika Lata from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Justice Sharma told the Court, the accused was 37 years old at the time of the offence.

The Court heard the man had sexually assaulted his daughter from November 2015 to November 2016 on four different occasions and had sexual intercourse with her on one occasion when her mother and other siblings were not at home.

The father of four children threatened to kill the victim if she told anyone about what happened. When reading the aggravating factors, Justice Sharma told the Court, the offender had breached the trust of his daughter.

He planned what he did, he was aware of the age difference between him and his daughter and exposed her to sexual abuse at a very young age.

Justice Sharma said: “There has been an increase in sexual offences involving offenders who are known to the victim and are mature adults. “When family members sexually abuse children, violating the Domestic Violence Act, they should not expect any mercy from this Court.”

Justice Sharma told the offender: “you have scarred the life of your own daughter forever.”

The man was sentenced to 17 years, 10 months and 15 days imprisonment with a non-parole period of 16 years.