A 65‑year‑old man has been sentenced to 13 years 10 months imprisonment for raping and sexually assaulting his 8-year-old granddaughter last year.
The incident happened in Suva.
He was found guilty of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
The man was the brother of the victim's paternal grandmother.
While delivering his sentence this morning, High Court Judge Justice Vinsent Perera said being an elderly figure the man had a duty to protect the victim.
He said that the aggravating factors were that there was a serious breach of trust, the age gap between the man and victim being 57-years as well as the exploitation of the victim's vulnerability.
He said the defense submitted in mitigation that the man's wife is 71-years-old and the man is the sole breadwinner and has health problems.
Justice Perera said he would not consider any of the mitigating factors submitted because the harm done to the victim outweighs it.
A non‑parole period of 10 years 10 months has been fixed.
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