A man who raped and sexually assaulted his 10-year-old stepdaughter in Nausori and remains on the run, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by High Court Judge, Justice Riyaz Hamza.
Justice Hamza has set a non-parole period of 45 years and considering time spent in remand, the man can apply for parole after 43 years and 11 months.
The man who was found guilty of six counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault had escaped from the courthouse on the day of his trial.
The incidents happened between 2014 and 2018.
It was heard in court that when the incident started the girl was 10 years old and the man was 39 years old.
Justice Hamza says that there was a lot of planning done by the man as on most occasions he will wait for when no was home.
The Judge further says the man would also prevent the girl from going to school on time to commit the offence.
Justice Hamza says the girl in her victim impact statement has said that she has been traumatized and she had to forgo her education.
He says that the girl had trusted the man but there was a breach of trust.
The sentence will begin when the man is apprehended.
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