Court sentences Ba man to two years for sexual assault

A56-year-old self-employed Ba man was sentenced to two years imprisonment by the Suva Magistrates Court on Friday for sexually assaulting a 22-year-old teacher.

The alleged incident happened on April 24, 2016 in Suva when the complainant was renting a room in the accused's house.

The accused and his wife had agreed to accommodate the complainant who was their son's teacher in a bedroom in their house until a separate section of the house was completed for her to rent.

On the night of the alleged incident the accused's wife was at a funeral while the accused was at home with his children. The court heard that the complainant was lying on her bed texting her boyfriend while the children were lying in the sitting room. After having his shower the accused went into the complainant's room and switched off the light and sexually assaulted the teacher. After the incident the complainant called on her friends who helped her pack her things and they left the accused's house and reported the matter to the police on the same night. In his evidence the accused did not dispute that he went to the complainant's room and kissed her twice however he denied sexually assaulting her.

He said he treated the complainant as a member of the family and usually kissed her in front of his children in the morning as they were leaving for school. He said it was not the first time he gave her a good night kiss.

Edited Rusiate Mataika