IN COURT Accused gets 13 years jail time for raping his nephew

Aman who raped his nephew, a special needs child, after the victim had taken his lunch to his workplace was jailed for 13 years and 11 months yesterday by the Lautoka High Court. The accused, who was working at a resort, had given his mobile phone to his nephew to watch a pornographic movie before raping him.

Passing sentence, Justice Sunil Sharma said the accused knew the victim was a special needs child and took advantage of him by calling him to a secluded area to watch the movie.

“You have caused pain and suffering to this innocent, unsuspecting vulnerable victim due to your lustful desires,” Justice Sharma said.

The offence occurred sometime in June after the victim was called back while returning home after dropping his uncle’s lunch. In mitigation, the accused said he was 27 years old at that time, was a first offender and lived with his wife and threemonth-old niece, whom he regarded as his daughter.

Justice Sharma began at 11 years, added five more for the aggravating factors but reduced it by two years for the good character of the accused and deducted a month for the time spent in remand.

A non-parole period of 11 years was imposed with Justice Sharma saying: “I consider this non-parole period to be appropriate in the rehabilitation of the accused, which is just in the circumstances of this case.”