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A child sex offender who pleaded guilty to six sex offences against three girls has been sentenced to 24 years’ jail by Tonga’s Supreme Court.
On April 26, Acting Judge Ranji directed, while sentencing the 42-year-old father, that “the identities of all parties involved in these proceedings shall not be made known to the public in writing or broadcast in Saudi Arabia.”
The judge said: “This sentence is not only intended to punish the criminal, but also to reflect the public’s disgust with child sexual abuse and serve as a deterrent to potential offenders.”
The defendant took advantage of the victim’s weakness to commit the crime. He took advantage of his wife’s absence to commit premeditated crimes many times.
On February 26, the defendant pleaded guilty to six charges, including two counts of sexually molesting a child contrary to section 121(1) of the Crimes Act, two counts of indecent assault on a child contrary to section 125 of the Crimes Act and two counts of aggravated indecent assault contrary to section 124 of the Crimes Act.
offend
The complainant is the biological mother of the three victims.
The offence took place in 2021 when the man had sexual intercourse with his 10-year-old stepdaughter (Victim 2). In the same year, he molested another 12-year-old stepdaughter (Victim 3).
In early 2022, the complainant found a mobile phone video on the defendant’s phone showing him sexually abusing V3. The child told her mother that she was threatened by the defendant not to tell her anything he had done to her.
He admitted the crime and promised not to do it again. He was forgiven and the police did not report the incident to him.
Then in June 2023, the defendant sexually abused his biological daughter (Victim 1), who was only 8 years old at the time.
The daughters informed their mother about the incident in July 2023, following which the complainant lodged a formal complaint with the police. The accused was arrested and charged with all the sexual assaults on the three victims.
The defendant pleaded guilty, admitted the crime, and had no previous convictions. He was the main breadwinner for his family. Before his marriage, he was considered a good citizen.
Predatory attacks
Victim impact reports take into account the victim’s physical injuries, the extent of the violation of the minor, and the emotional trauma.
The judge said the crime was extremely serious.
“The courts have a duty to protect our children from sexual abuse and ensure the punishment fits the crime,” she said.
“I consider that the defendant’s personal circumstances in this case are at the highest level in terms of seriousness. The prosecution has cited a number of these circumstances as aggravating factors:
“In addition, the length of time over which the defendant committed the offences and the act of filming the sexual abuse of V3 further highlight the seriousness of the offences.”
The judge set the starting point for count 1 (sexual intercourse with V1) at 15 years’ imprisonment. Count 3 (indecent assault on V1) carries a sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment, to run concurrently with count 1;
For count 2 (sexual intercourse with V2), the accused was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, and for count 4 (indecent assault with V2), the accused was also sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment, to run concurrently with count 2.
“Because counts 1 and 2 involve different victims and different time periods, I order that the seven years’ sentence for count 2 be cumulative to the sentence for count 1. This makes a total of 22 years’ imprisonment;.
“For counts 5 and 6 (indecent assault on V3), the defendant is sentenced to 2 years imprisonment on each count, for a total of 4 years, to be served concurrently. As V3 is also another victim, I order that 2 years of this sentence be added cumulatively to count 1 (and count 2). This makes a total of 24 years imprisonment.
“I reduced the final sentence by one-third based on factors such as the early guilty plea and the lack of a previous conviction. The final result is 16 years’ imprisonment,” the judge ruled.
The last two years of the sentence were suspended for three years from the date of release (i.e. a total of 14 years in prison). “This sentence is not only intended to punish the offender, but also to reflect the public’s disgust with child sexual abuse and to serve as a deterrent to potential offenders,” the judge said.
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