The accused could not be considered as a first offender because he was convicted for murder on November 12, 1992 and was sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment.

A 50-year-old pastor was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment yesterday after he was con­victed for raping his 18-year-old niece.

The accused, who is first cousin with the complain­ant’s father, lived in the same settlement as the complain­ant in Sigatoka with her par­ents and three other siblings.

The accused had arranged with the complainant’s fa­ther to allow her to do chores at his house after school, in the weekends and during school holidays.

In return he offered to com­pensate her with school bus fares.

The complainant could not recall the details of each in­cident, but she said it was between July and December 2010, when the accused forced her to have sex with him.

He threatened to kill her if she reported the incident to anyone and she did not report until May 2011, when a neighbour prodded out of her whether she was preg­nant.

The complainant implicat­ed the accused and her fam­ily came to know about it and the matter was reported to the Police.

In his evidence the accused gave the Court the impres­sion that he considered him­self the victim.

He said he was seduced by his niece and he fell into temptation to have sex with her after she turned 18 in De­cember 2010.

The accused admitted to having sex with her once in January, 2011 and admitted that he was responsible for her pregnancy.

The court said that instead of protecting the complain­ant, the accused sexually abused her in pursuit of his lust.

Justice Daniel Goundar said there was very little evi­dence of remorse from the accused, who was married and was the advisory coun­cillor of his district.

In mitigation, the accused further submitted that he was actively involved in char­ity, in promoting the welfare of his community and prison counselling.

Justice Goundar said those factors carried little weight in sentencing for rape.

Furthermore,Justice Goundar said the accused could not be considered as a first offender because he was convicted for murder on November 12, 1992 and was sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment.

He was released from pris­on on May 24, 2002.

“Rape is indeed such a se­rious offence that a custo­dial sentence is inevitable to deter and denounce the of­fence,” Justice Goundar said.

“Rehabilitation plays a less significant role in the pun­ishment for rape.”

He said the aggravating fac­tors in the case were over­whelming.

The complainant was a young girl who came from a poor family.

He breached her trust and destroyed her aspiration to study and her future.

The complainant gave birth to a child in 2011 and she de­cided to keep him.

The child is in Year One this year and the complainant, who is now 26-years-old, has not pursued further studies nor has she married.

“Cultural stigma may pre­vent her from finding a lov­ing and permanent relation­ship,” Justice Goundar said.

He said the impact of the accused’s crime on the com­plainant has been severe.

The accused will serve a minimum term of 10 years imprisonment before he can be eligible for parole.

Edited by Percy Kean

Feedback: fonua.talei@fijisun.com.fj