A 22-year-old man has been convicted by the Suva High Court after being found guilty of sexually assaulting his first cousin on multiple occasions between 2021 and 2024.
The accused was 17-years-old and the complainant was 14-year-old when the assault began in 2021.
They
lived in the same settlement at the time of the incident.
On the first occasion in 2021, the man indecently assaulted the complainant while she was sleeping in the
living room with others.
Following that incident, he continued to rape the complainant during multiple
occasions in 2023 and 2024.
In July 2024, the accused broke into the house by removing the glass louvre blade and entering the
complainant’s house while she was studying.
The accused attempted to rape her but the attack was
interrupted when the accused's mother called his name from outside.
The complainant was confronted by the accused’s mother regarding their relationship who then disclosed all
the incidents to her.
The accused’s mother advised the victim not to say anything to anyone until she spoke
to the complainant’s father the next morning.
The complainant, frustrated and angered by the accused’s mother’s response, ran to her friend’s house and
disclosed what had occurred.
In her testimony, the victim explained that she did not report the incident earlier due to the close relationship
between their families and her fear of the possible consequences of doing so.
In defence, the accused claimed that he believed they were considered “husband and wife” under the
Fijian custom due to their first-cousin relationship.
He acknowledged that the complainant did not consent
to sex he proceeded anyways because of his deep love for her.
The court found the accused guilty of two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, one count of sexual
assault and one count of attempted rape and convicted him accordingly.
The accused is remanded in custody pending sentence hearing next week.
