The Supreme Court has found a man guilty of sexually abusing his nephew under 10 years old on Malekula.
The court heard from the child that his uncle sexually assaulted him. The first incident occurred when he was 5 years old, the second at 6, and the third at 7.
The complainant’s mother and another witness testified that one incident occurred at a ‘natangura’ thatch house in December 2020, another while the family was mourning his grandmother’s death in March 2021, and the final at a different house in May 2022.
The accused was 22 years old at the time of the first incident. He stated that he went to set up a TV in the house, accompanied by the victim, and turned it off to grind kava. He heard one of the witnesses and her mother speaking in their local language, though he did not understand it, before leaving to grind kava.
One of the witnesses testified that she heard movements inside the house in December 2020. Then she went outside and found the complainant on the veranda. She suspected that the sexual offending had occurred which she immediately raised with the complainant’s grandmother. Within two minutes of raising her concerns, the defendant left the house.
Judge Viran Molisa Trief found the Prosecution proved the accused committed the first incident beyond reasonable doubt based on the evidence provided.
For the second incident, the complainants provided evidence that the defendant told him to accompany him to collect water from the water tank, where he threatened him to stab him with a knife. He told his mother what happened, which she later testified in court. She said she wanted to report the defendant, but her husband said not to because the complainant was too young and could do it when he was older.
The defendant also testified, but the judge did not accept his version of events.
He forced his nephew into sexual intercourse for the third time on May 10,2022, this time threatening him with a knife. The child told his mum, and they went to the police station the next day to report the matter.
The defendant claimed that his family members were at home, and denied forcing the victim to sexual intercourse. He said he was building a wall at the time to divide a room in the house. However, the judge rejected this, as no family members were called as witnesses.
