The High Court in Suva has sentenced a man to 13 years and 11 months in prison for multiple charges of sexual assault and rape. The defendant appeared before Justice Pita Bulamainaivalu on Wednesday.
He was found guilty of three counts of Sexual Assault under section 210 (1) (a) of the Crimes Act 2009 and two counts of Rape under section 207 (1) and 2 (b) of the Crimes Act 2009. The offenses took place between June and December 2020 in Naikawaga Village, Tailevu, where he unlawfully and indecently assaulted the victim. Additionally, he was accused of penetrating the victim without her consent between January and December 2018 in the same location.
The court noted that the accused confessed to all five charges. Justice Bulamainaivalu indicated that, based on the Sentencing and Penalties Act 2009 and the Supreme Court ruling in Timo v State [2019] FJSC 22; CAV0022.2018, a non-parole period of 12 years was determined for this case.
The convicted man has 30 days to file an appeal against the sentence.