An uncle has been sentenced to 8 years, 6 months and 5 days by the Lautoka High Court after being found guilty of rape, sexual assault, indecent assault, and common assault.
The 20-year-old victim was at her uncle’s house on the 16th of January, 2024 when the incident took place.
The uncle, who was 64-years of age at the time of the incident, had threatened the victim not to tell anyone about the incident.
During sentencing submissions, the defence lawyer stated that the accused was a first-time offender, is married, the sole breadwinner for his family, has realised his mistake and sought forgiveness from the court.
The victim, in her statement, said she suffered psychological and emotional harm.
She says that she feels scared whenever she sees the accused or his family members.
While delivering the sentence, Judge Justice Sunil Sharma said the uncle had breached the trust of his niece and that the court would fail in its duty if a deterrent custodial sentence was not imposed.
Justice Sharma also set a non-parole period of 7 years.
