A father who raped his daughter in Ba in 2006 has been sentenced to 16 years and 9 months imprisonment by the Lautoka High Court.
The girl was 10 years when the incident happened while the man was 47 years.
While sentencing the man, Judge, Justice Sunil Sharma says the father grossly breached the trust of his daughter by his actions and also abused the sanctity of the relationship between a father and daughter.
He says the father also used a kitchen knife to threaten the daughter.
The Judge says it is shocking to note the manner in which the man had committed this offence on the girl.
Justice Sharma says rape of a child is one of the most serious forms of sexual violence and offenders should be dealt with severely. He says children are entitled to live their lives free from any form of physical or emotional abuse.
He adds when family members sexually abuse children, violating the Domestic Violence Act, they should not expect any mercy from the court.
He further says the punishment ought to be such that it takes into account the society’s outrage and denunciation against such conduct.
A non-parole period of 14 years has been set.
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