A man who repeatedly raped his stepdaughter has had his appeal against a 16-year prison sentence denied by the Fiji Court of Appeal. The offenses began when the victim was just 12 years old. According to court documents, the victim’s parents separated when she was approximately five, and her father has not contacted her since that separation.
The initial act of sexual violence took place between January 1 and October 19, 2014, with a subsequent incident occurring between October 20, 2014, and August 10, 2020. The man appealed, arguing that his sentence was too severe, emphasizing that he is a first-time offender.
Justice Chandana Prematilaka indicated in his ruling on August 6 that the trial judge considered the circumstances leading to the sentence and imposed an initial 18-year sentence with a non-parole period of 12 years and one month, which was later adjusted to 16 years and four months after accounting for the remand time of one year and eight months.
Justice Prematilaka noted that the trial judge’s approach to sentencing did not strictly adhere to the established two-tiered system but instead followed a method of ‘instinctive synthesis.’ Consequently, he declined to allow the appeal against the sentence.