40-year-old security officer Josua Colanaudolu has been sentenced to life imprisonment and has to serve a minimum of 30 years in prison before he can be considered for a pardon by the President.
High Court Judge, Justice Salesi Temo handed down the sentence to Colanaudolu in the last hour after he was convicted of one count of murder, 6 counts of rape, 1 count of abduction and one count of indecently annoying a female.
Colanaudolu was found guilty of abducting, raping and murdering the 14‑year‑old girl in Deuba in March last year.
Justice Temo told Colanaudolu that his behaviour when he was 22 years old in 1998 to when he killed the 14-year-old girl last year shows that Colanaudolu has an evil heart.
The presiding judge told Colanaudolu that he is a serial rapist, he is the worst nightmare for any parent who has a daughter and he showed no mercy to the 14-year-old girl.
Justice Temo also told the court that Colanaudolu has a daughter of his own and he gave no regard to the rape victims that they are also human beings.
He said that he only considered one mitigating factor and that is that he spent 1 year and 2 months behind bars.
Justice Temo said Colanaudolu’s sentence is designed to punish him in a just manner and to save the young people of Fiji.
The judge also said that when Colanaudolu was young he represented Fiji in judo in international events and he later began to use his sporting power to prey on young people.
Colanaudolu was then handcuffed and taken by Police and Fiji Corrections Service officers who will take him to Naboro Corrections Centre.
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