Labourer convicted over attack on 80-year-old woman

A 27-year-old sugarcane labourer has been convicted by the High Court in Labasa of attempted rape and attempted robbery involving an 80-year-old woman in Macuata.

The man appeared before Justice Lee James Burney for judgment.

The court heard that on February 27, 2025, the accused attempted to have sexual intercourse with the complainant without her consent and attempted to steal her money using force.

The complainant lives alone, although one of her sons lives nearby.

She told the court she had known the accused and his parents for about 60 years, as they used to collect coconuts from her property and lived in the same settlement.

At around noon on the day of the incident, she was preparing to leave her home to husk coconuts nearby when she heard dogs barking and someone calling out “Tinana” three times from behind her house.

After closing the door, she stood in her compound when the man grabbed her from the side and dragged her about 10 metres to bushes beside her house, where the incident occurred.

The court heard that police officers from Seaqaqa Police Station arrested the man in a cassava plantation after the complainant’s son reported the incident.

In his judgment, Justice Burney found the complainant’s evidence truthful and reliable. The judge said the accused had sought to minimise his offending throughout the trial.

When first confronted with the allegation, the accused denied being at the complainant’s home that day.

It was only late in the trial that he admitted wanting to have sex with her, the judge said. The man will be sentenced at a later date.