14-Year Jail Term For Rape of Six-Month-Old Daughter

‘The offender must be severely punished and be incarcerated to ensure our younger generation is safe and secure’

AHigh Court judge told a father who raped his sixmonth-old biological daughter that: “You completely disregarded clearly defined societal, cultural and religious norms that prohibit sexual relationships with family members.” Judge Justice Aruna Aluthge made the remark while sentencing the father convicted of rape to 14 years imprisonment with a nonparole period of 12 years.

The 30-year-old man was convicted for one count of rape. Between October 1, 2015, and October 31, 2015, in the Western Division, the man raped the victim when she was six months old.

Justice Aluthge told the man that he victimised his own daughter because he was in a position of trust and had a duty to protect and ensure his daughter’s safety. “The victim’s mother trusted you as the victim’s biological father when she left the victim in your care and custody. You have miserably failed to honour that trust,” he said.

“In selecting the starting point of the sentence, the courts are required to consider the seriousness of the offending and the impact or harm caused to the victim.

“Your offending is very serious. The victim suffered physically and emotionally considering the seriousness of the offence and the harm caused to the baby victim.”

Justice Aluthge highlighted that the Courts of Fiji repeatedly pronounced the rape of a child as one of the most serious forms of sexual violence and that rapists would be dealt with severely.

“The courts have underscored that children are vulnerable members of our society. They are entitled to live their lives free from any form of physical or emotional abuse.

“They are entitled to trust their family member to protect them and keep them safe from sexual violence,” he said.

“When family members sexually abuse children, they should expect condign punishment to mark society’s outrage and denunciation against sexual abuse of children. “Rape and sexual abuse of children have far-reaching consequences for not only the child victims themselves but also their families and society.

“The courts have emphasised that the increasing prevalence of such offending in the community calls for deterrent sentences.

“By prescribing life imprisonment for rape, the law makers expect the courts to impose harsher punishment on rape offenders.

“The sentence must send a clear warning to society. The offender must be severely punished and be incarcerated to ensure our younger generation is safe and secure,” Justice Aluthge said.

The man was given 30 days to appeal to the Fiji Court of Appeal.