A 56-year-old man who indecently assaulted and raped his 9-year-old niece and gave her $2 after the incident has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by High Court Judge, Justice Daniel Goundar.
While sentencing the man, Justice Goundar said the man had abused the girl over a period of one year in her home last year.
He said the man gave the girl a $2 coin after the incident so that she would not report the incident.
The court was told that the mother of the girl grew suspicious when she saw the man's hand on her daughter's thigh.
She then took her daughter to the bedroom and asked her what had happened after which the girl told her that she was abused.
Justice Goundar said the girl in her victim impact statement had said that she was frightened of the offender and she is now frightened of older members of her family because of what the man did to her.
He said the man's early guilty plea has saved the girl from the trauma of giving evidence in court.
Justice Goundar also said that the fact the girls' trust was breached and she was abused by a family member is an aggravating factor.
He has been sentenced 2 years for indecent assault and 10 years for rape and will be serving the term concurrently.
The man can apply for parole after serving 10 years in prison.
