A man in Tailevu has been acquitted of raping his step-daughter and in this case, the prosecution has failed to prove the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
The incident happened on 13th November 2010 and the victim was under the age of 13 years.
Delivering his judgement, Suva High Court Judge Justice Prabaharan Kumararatnam said considering the evidence presented by the prosecution, it creates a genuine doubt in his mind.
He said the benefit of doubt must be given to the accused.
Judge Kumararatnam said in her evidence, the victim has not uttered a single word to her mother about the sexual assault of the accused, though she had ample opportunity to inform the incident to her mother.
She only came out with the incident after more than one year.
The reason was because she was scared of her stepfather.
Judge Kumararatnam said the victim denied telling the police that she was afraid of telling her mother as the accused would kill her.
