Rape Of A Child Shocking, Offenders Should Be Severely Punished: Judge
A judge says the rape of a child is the most serious forms of sexual violence and offenders should be dealt with severely.
There is no two ways about it, he adds.
Justice Sunil Sharma made the comments at the High Court in Lautoka while sentencing a man to 17 years and 10 months’ imprisonment for raping his granddaughter.
“Children are entitled to live their lives free from any form of physical or emotional abuse,” he said.
“When family members sexually abuse children, violating the Domestic Violence Act, they should expect condign punishment to mark the society’s outrage and denunciation against such conduct.
“A long-term imprisonment becomes inevitable in such situations.”
The victim, who was seven years old and a Year 3 student, was sitting on the settee and reading at her home in Vatukoula on June 24, 2017 when the accused went and sat beside her and sexually assaulted the victim.
As a result of what he did, she told her mother everything after the accused left because she was scared of him.
The matter was reported to Police and a medical examination found that the victim had sustained injuries.
The accused, who is 55 years old now, a first offender and married with three children, was arrested and charged by Police.
He was convicted of sexual assault and rape last week after a trial.
Justice Sharma said the aggravating features were that the accused was the grandfather of the victim, who trusted the accused who had gone to her house and stayed for a few days.
“The accused knew the victim was vulnerable and naive and he breached the trust of the victim by what he did to her,” he said.
“The accused has also breached the sanctity of the relationship between a grandfather and a granddaughter.
“The accused had planned what he wanted to do. The victim was reading on the settee, the mother of the victim was not around.
“The accused went to the victim he knew she was unsupervised and he took advantage of the situation, which resulted in him committing the offences.”
Justice Sharma said the victim was seven years old whereas the accused was 53 years old at the time of the offending, the age difference was substantial.
He said it was a matter of concern to note the prevalence of rape and sexual assault cases on children by relatives.
“It is the duty of the court to protect children from sexual exploitation of any kind that is the reason why the law has imposed life imprisonment as the maximum penalty,” the Justice Sharma said.
“There has been an increase in sexual offences involving offenders who are known to the victim and are matured adults.
“It is shocking, sickening and appalling to note the manner in which the accused had committed both the offences on this child.”
Justice Sharma passed an aggregate sentence of 17 years and 10 months on the accused and ordered that he would be eligible for parole after serving 16 years.
“Due to the closeness of the relationship between the accused and the victim, a permanent non-molestation and non-contact orders are issued to protect the victim under the Domestic Violence Act,” he said.
Edited by Susana Tuilau
