Rapist dad gets 16 years (Labasa, Fiji)

UNNAMED DAD has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for raping his 13-year-old daughter. Note that Daddy got a reduced sentence for "mitigating circumstances." Why should he get a break because the mother did not have paid employment outside the home?

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=155064

Rapist dad gets sixteen years
Theresa Ralogaivau
Friday, September 03, 2010

A LABASA man was yesterday jailed for 16 years for 15 counts of rape and one count of indecent assault against his 13-year-old daughter.

High Court judge Justice Sitambarampillay Thurairaja said: "When a person in authority, such as in the position of a father commits this sort of crime against his own daughter, he should be condemned and shown no mercy."

"I am mindful that government and the entire world is making all endeavours to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation."

The man began sexually molesting his daughter a day after her 13th birthday in 2009 at their home.

He pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault that happened on January 16, 2009 and 15 counts of rape that occurred between the 17th of the same month to March 13, 2010.

The court heard that in most of the offences the man would send his wife out of the house on some pretext so that he could rape his eldest child. The attacks continued for well over a year.

Justice Thurairaja said the aggravating factors in the case included the fact that the victim was his own daughter.

"You made her sexually active from a very young age and made her to be your sex slave," he said.

"You betrayed the bond between a father and a daughter."

For the aggravating factors, Justice Thurairaja added seven years to an initial starting sentence of 13 years.

For the mitigating circumstances like the fact that man was a first offender, sole bread winner and was remorseful he reduced the 20-year sentence by four years.