A 41-year-old father was ordered to serve three years and four months behind bars after he admitted that he raped his daughter.
His sentence was backdated to March 13, 2018 when he was first remanded in custody.
The father, who could not be named pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual intercourse without consent and to four others but alternative counts of incest. Justice Oliver Saksak said that this case was fixed for trial on June 19, 2018. Justice Saksak said the father then sought leave through his lawyer to be rearraigned on all those eight charges and leave was granted.
He said the father then entered not-guilty pleas through your lawyer to the four counts of sexual intercourse without consent and to one alternative charge of incest but was convicted with the remaining three counts of incest.
He said that the the prosecution offered no evidence in respect of these charges and withdrew the charges, pursuant to section 29 of the Criminal Procedure Code Act [CAP 136] and was acquitted with.
He said the offence of incest is a serious criminal offence Parliament in 2016 increased the penalty for this offence under section 95 (1) (a) from 10 years to 15 years imprisonment to reflect the seriousness of this offence.
“What you did is a disgrace to yourself and your family,” he said.
“The victim is your very own biological daughter born on February 29, 2000 and that put her age at 15 years old when the offence started to occur in 2015”.
He said that the victim was attending one of the leading schools in the country in 2015 when the first incident of incest occurred.
He said it was on a Friday afternoon when she returned home for lunch and he was alone with her at home.
Justice Saksak said that the victim went to have a bath and went inside to change and had a towel around her.
He said the father then followed her in and held her belly and asked her to remove her towel.
He said the daughter was ashamed to do what he said because she was naked but her father pulled her into her brother’s room then raped her.
In 2016, the father subjected his daughter to numerous household chores after her demanded sex from her and she refused.
He asked her a second time and she agreed to his demands.
The judge said the daughter was sleeping in her room when her father approached her and demanded that she remove her clothes and he raped her and left.
He said that in 2017 on a Friday night the father came back home drunk and knock on her door.
He said that when she opened the door the father entered, removed her clothes and had full sexual intercourse with her but that was when her mother arrived. The daughter cried and told her mother that her father had forced her into having sex.
She felt pain after the intercourse.
He said that the offences were repeated but foremost there was a serious breach of trust in the family.
Justice Saksak said the father put the victim to great risk of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases as sexual intercourse was not protected by use of condoms and the girl was under his care and protection. As her father he abused that trust and parental responsibility.
He said the principle is very clear — men who take advantage sexually of young girls forfeit the right to remain in the community and parents who use their children for sexual gratification will surely go to prison.
He said that any sentence that might be imposed will mark the seriousness of the offending, mark public condemnation of the offender’s actions, will serve as a deterrence for the offender and other likeminded persons and will protect the young, the weak and the vulnerable members in the society.
He adopted a starting point of seven years but after considering the mitigating factors, the judge reduced the sentence leaving an end sentence of three years and four months to be served.
SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST
