A man who raped his step-daughter and impregnated her has been sentenced to 17 years and 4 months imprisonment by the Lautoka High Court.
He was charged with 5 counts of rape and one count of indecent assault.
The court heard that the incidents arose in 2016 when the 16 year old victim came to live with her mother in Lautoka from Ba and at the time her mother was in a living relationship with the accused.
The court was told that the abuse started in October 2016, where the man indecently touched the victim and the next morning she complained to her mother when the accused left home for work. Her mother did not believe her and mocked her.
It was heard in court that the victim went and complained to police after school and her mother was called at the station. She convinced the police and a social welfare officer that the victim’s character was questionable and the police did not register the victim’s report.
It was heard in court that the victim was returned to her mother and when they returned home, her mother beat her up and subjected her to verbal abuse after which the victim attempted suicide but was unsuccessful.
The court was told that the accused raped the victim on five separate occasions between a period of two months from December 2016 and January 2017 and by February 2017 the victim discovered that she was in an early stage of pregnancy after her mother took her to a local doctor.
The victim said she was impregnated by the accused and her mother made her go through a non‑intrusive procedure using prescription drug to terminate the pregnancy which was done to protect and save the accused from being exposed as the victim was still a child.
The court was informed that shortly after the victim was forced to terminate her pregnancy, she was rescued from her home by her relatives and both the accused and the complainant’s mother physically and verbally abused the victim in the presence of the relatives who went to take her to their home.
Judge, Justice Daniel Goundar says every effort was made to conceal the abuse and protect the accused adding the physical and emotional trauma suffered by the victim due to the abuse is significant.
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