A High Court judge in Lautoka has told a head chef charged with rape that his action was a disgrace.

The accused was found guilty and convicted for raping his trainee chef.

While sentencing the accused, Justice Thushara Rajasinghe said he had breached the trust that the complainant had in him as the head chef by committing the offence.

“You have abused your position and her vulnerability as a trainee chef who worked under you by forcing her to drink beer mixed with whisky and then raping her in a disgraceful manner,” the judge said.

“You had completely shattered and destroyed the victim’s future where she could have become a chef in the hotel industry.”

The court had heard that on the day of the incident, the accused had taken the complainant to a party, where he forced her to drink beer mixed with whisky. Once she got drunk and lost consciousness, the accused then took her to his official quarters and had carnal knowledge without her consent.

The victim had joined the hotel staff a week before the incident as a trainee chef under the supervision of the accused.

Justice Rajasinghe highlighted that rape was one of the most humiliating and distressing crimes.

“The main purpose of this sentence is founded on the principle of deterrence. It is a responsibility of the court to deter offenders or other persons from committing offences of the same or similar nature and protect the community from offenders of this nature,” the judge said.

“A custodial sentence is inevitable for the offences of this nature in order to demonstrate the gravity of the offence and also reflect that the society denounces such crimes without any reservation.”

He sentenced the accused to 11 years and 11 months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of nine years and 11 months. The accused was given 30 days to file an appeal.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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