‘Practice what you preach’: Pastor jailed for abusing niece

A 53-year-old pastor from Vanua Levu has been sentenced to nine years and six months’ imprisonment after being convicted of three counts of sexual assault against his teenage niece.

During sentencing proceedings in the High Court in Labasa last Friday, the court heard an emotional victim impact statement from the complainant, now 14, with the assistance of a counsellor.

“Practice what you preach,” the girl said, describing how the love and affection shown by her uncle and pastor had ultimately turned into sexual abuse and a breach of trust.

The offences were committed between January 1 and December 31, 2021.

Justice Lee James Burney said the offending was particularly serious given the relationship between the offender and the victim.

State prosecutor Estin Thaggard submitted that the man had betrayed the trust and responsibility placed in him after the child’s mother entrusted her daughter to his care.

Ms Thaggard argued that the case was of high gravity because of the seriousness of the offences and the significant age difference between the offender and the victim.

The court also heard that the abuse had caused the complainant emotional and psychological harm, as detailed in a victim impact statement prepared with the assistance of a counsellor.

Defence lawyer Sharmila Devi told the court that it was the offender’s first conviction. However, Justice Burney noted that the defence’s mitigating submissions were limited because the offender had maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.

In delivering sentence, Justice Burney said courts played an important role in shaping societal values by denouncing sexual offending against children in the strongest possible terms.

The judge said the offender’s previous good character and lack of criminal convictions carried little mitigating weight given the seriousness of the offending.

Justice Burney initially assessed the totality of the offending at 23 years’ imprisonment across the three counts. The court further considered that a non-parole period of 10 years would appropriately reflect the punitive aspect of the sentence while also providing an incentive for rehabilitation.

The judge said the sentence would encourage the offender to reflect on the harm caused to the complainant and engage in rehabilitation programmes.

After taking into account the time already served on remand, the court reduced the sentence by six months, resulting in a nine-year, six-month non-parole term.