Stepfather jailed six years for attempted rape of four-year-old stepson

A High Court judge has signalled that sentences for attempted rape of young children may need to be tougher after jailing a 29-year-old stepfather for six years and six months for attempting to rape his partner's four-year-old son.

The man was convicted after a trial of attempting to rape a child under the age of 13 while caring for the boy at the family home as his partner was in hospital.

The High Court in Suva considered the medical evidence of the injuries suffered by the child and the trauma caused by the offence.

Justice Daniel Goundar said the case involved a gross breach of trust, the child's tender age and physical injury, placing it beyond what earlier sentencing tariff decisions had envisaged.

He set a starting point of eight years' imprisonment, above the traditional range of 12 months to five years for attempted rape.

The offender was sentenced to six years and six months' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years and six months.

The court also ordered the permanent suppression of the child's identity and imposed an indefinite non-contact order against the offender, who has 30 days to appeal.