3 JUVENILES ON SEX CHARGES IN JUNE

THEY ARE AMONG 26 PEOPLE CHARGED WITH 50 COUNTS OF SEPARATE ALLEGED INCIDENTS The following data is authorised for release by the ODPP and relates to the number of formal indictments (Information) filed in the High Courts of Fiji by the DPP throughout the month. This data is confined to incidents of serious sexual offences only.

Please note that a number of rape victims as well as victims under the age of 18 years and victims in domestic relationship were also victims of other serious sexual offences. Similarly, a number of accused persons were also charged with more than one offence.

Three juveniles were charged with serious sexual offences last month, latest statistics from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) have revealed.

The three accused are among the 26 people charged with a total of 50 counts of separate incidents in June. The offences were rape (41), abduction with intent to commit rape (2), indecent assault (2) and sexual assault (5).

The following data is authorised for release by the ODPP and relates to the number of formal indictments (Information) filed in the High Courts of Fiji by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) throughout the month. This data is confined to incidents of serious sexual offences only.

A 16-year-old boy was charged with the rape of his three-year-old nephew while in another alleged incident a 16-year-old boy was charged with the rape and sexual assault of his eightyear-old niece. There was one alleged incident where another 16-year-old boy was charged with raping a 15-year-old girl whom he met at a family funeral. There were 25 victims of whom 18 victims were under the age of 18 years. There were 23 female victims and two male victims.

There were 13 alleged incidents where the victims and the accused were related.

A 69-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 12-year-old granddaughter while in another alleged incident a 55-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 34-year-old daughter-in-law. However, this matter was discontinued because of insufficient evidence.

There were five separate alleged incidents where uncles were charged with the rape and sexual assault of their nieces. In one alleged incident, a 45-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 16-year-old niece, while a 21-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 17-year-old niece. In another alleged incident, a 19-yearold man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 10-year-old niece. A 57-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 16-year-old niece. The accused was also charged with one count of indecently annoying the victim. (NB: The offence of indecently annoying is not recorded in the statistics table).

A 60-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 23-year-old niece however, this matter was discontinued after the victim admitted she consented to sex. There was one alleged incident where a 58-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 48-year-old ex-wife. A 42-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 18-year-old cousin while in another alleged incident, a 37-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 14-yearold cousin.

There was one alleged incident where a 27-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 17-year-old cousin; this matter was discontinued because of insufficient evidence.

There was one alleged incident where a 25-year-old man and a 27-year-old man were charged with the rape and abduction with intent to commit rape of a 15-year-old girl.

In another alleged incident, a 62-yearold man was charged with the rape, abduction with intent to commit rape and indecent assault of a 16-year-old girl however, this matter was also discontinued because of insufficient evidence.

A 44-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 55-year-old landlady. A 50-year-old man was charged with the rape of a 17-year-old girl outside a church.

A 26-year-old man was charged with the rape of a 12-year-old girl. The accused was a family friend.

There were two separate alleged incidents where a 20-year-old man and a 28-year-old man were charged with the rape of a 16-year-old girl and a 17-yearold girl however, both cases were discontinued after the victims admitted to making false complaints. A 22-year-old man was charged with the rape of a 19-year-old woman, but this case was also discontinued because of a false complaint. A 74-year-old man was charged with the rape of a seven-year-old boy however, this matter was discontinued after the child could not recall the incident. Refer to the table entitled ODPP Rape and Sexual Offences June 2020 for a break-down of these statistics.