High Court Judge Justice Lee James Burney has highlighted what seems to be a concerning upward trend of children and young people sexually abusing younger children.
He has stressed on this while sentencing a man who raped his cousin in Cakaudrove in January, 2022 when she was only 11-years-old to 11 years imprisonment.
The rapist, who was 19-years-old at the time of the offence, in December 2023 was also convicted and sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment, suspended for 3 years, upon his plea of guilty to a count of indecently assaulting the girl on the same occasion.
While sentencing the man, Justice Burney says the girl had been entrusted to the care of the man's mother when her parents went to the forest.
He says the man threatened the girl in order to avoid responsibility and increased the harm caused to her as she had to suffer in silence.
Justice Burney says the 11-year-old’s Victim Impact Statement highlights the sense of isolation and shame that the offender caused to her.
He says while in some quarters, there have been calls for more severe sentences to be imposed on sex offenders, there has been a countervailing view when it comes to juveniles.
The judge says this is best illustrated by the passage of the landmark Child Justice Act 2024 (yet to come into force) which is said to apply a new approach to how Fiji engages with children in conflict with the law, one that moves away from a focus on criminalisation to intervention and rehabilitation, from punishment to restoration, from stigma to support, from exclusion to reintegration, and to highlighting care over incarceration.
He says plainly, there is a tension between the laudable aims of the Child Justice Act 2024 and the constitutional imperative to protect children from abuse, including by the imposition of just and proportionate sentences on those who sexually abuse children.
The judge has questioned how sentencing courts can strike the right balance when sentencing children and young people who have committed serious sexual offences against younger children.
Justice Burney says in this case, while the offender was 19 at the time of the crimes, his youth and level of maturity must still be considered in sentencing, as case law and research show that young people continue to develop beyond the age of 18.
The man is eligible to apply for parole after serving six years and nine months in prison.
