86-year-old granted bail in alleged rape of granddaughter

The High Court in Suva has granted bail to an 86-year-old man charged with raping his minor granddaughter.

The accused appeared before Justice Daniel Goundar last Friday and pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

It is alleged the offences occurred on three separate occasions between March 2024 and sometime last year at their home in Naitasiri.

The accused is alleged to have raped and sexually assaulted his biological granddaughter, who was a minor at the time.

The charges were read to him in the iTaukei language.

State prosecutor Pream Ram told the court the State did not object to bail because the victim’s family had relocated and there had been no interference.

The court granted bail with two sureties, each bonded for $1000 in a non-cash bail bond.

As part of his bail conditions, the accused has been ordered not to interfere with any State witnesses and to reside at the fixed address already provided to the court.

A Domestic Violence Restraining Order was also issued, prohibiting him from contacting the victim in any way.

He has also been ordered to attend all court proceedings.

The matter will be called again on May 18 for a pre-trial conference.