Stepfather gets 22 years behind bars
A MAN who sexually abused and raped his two stepdaughters and fathered three children with one of them in Malaita has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.
The defendant who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victims was convicted of one count of Rape, one count of Attempted Rape and two counts of Sexual Intercourse with a Child under 15 years.
He pleaded guilty to all the charges, except for rape and a trial was conducted during the High Court circuit in Auki, Malaita Province last week.
Judge Ronald Bei Talasasa Jnr delivered his judgement last Saturday declaring the defendant guilty of the rape charge and hence convicted him accordingly.
On Wednesday, he handed down his sentence, imposing a 22-year jail term for all the four counts.
The defendant married the mother of the two victims.
The court heard that on 2015, he raped HA and then stayed with HA till 2017 and they had three children together.
HA was 12 years old in 2015.
That was also before the amendment on the Penal Code Sexual Offences was enacted, hence the defendant was charged with rape.
Following that incident, the victims’ mother left the defendant.
On 6 June 2021, the defendant attempted to rape his other stepdaughter NA who was only 14 years old at that time.
It was heard that on two separate occasions on 7 June 2021 and 8 June 2021, he sexual intercourse with NA.
The incidents occurred in a village in East Kwara’ae in Malaita Province.
Oxley Limeniala represented the defendant, whilst Public Prosecutors Letiara Pellie and Selwyn Vaike appears for the Crown.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
Man guilty of having sex with minor
A MAN has been found guilty of having sex with a 14-year-old girl at a village in Makira-Ulawa Province in 2018.
The defendant (ASM) who could not be named to protect the identity of the victim was convicted of one count of Sexual Intercourse with a Child under 15 years.
The trial was conducted during the High Court circuit in Kirakira, Makira-Ulawa Province in July.
Judge John Keniapisia after the trial said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant had sexual intercourse with a female child under 15 years.
“In this kind of offending, consent does not factor in for consideration,” Judge Keniapisia said.
He added that men must be careful not to have sex with a female child under 15 years of age because it is an offence under the 2016 Act.
The prosecution presented its evidences through the testimony of two witnesses (the victim and her mother) at the trial.
For the defence case, the defendant ran a defence of alibi and called two alibi witnesses who were 12-year-olds in 2018.
The prosecution case and the victim’s evidence were that on 9 March 2018, the victim and her three siblings were weeding at their granny’s house.
The victim felt sick and went back home at around 3pm and there, she took some medicine and rested.
It was when she went outside to the toilet located next to their dwelling house that the defendant appeared from the bushes and raped her.
She reported the matter her aunt and granny.
She could not tell her parents immediately because they went to another village. It was two weeks later when they returned that she told her mother about it.
Judge Keniapisia said the defendant ran a defence of alibi, telling the court he was at another village with his wife at the time of the incident.
However, he said the two witnesses the defendant called to support his alibi defence were very young boys in 2018 (12-year-old boys) who in his opinion were brought to court without proper conferencing or were trying their best to put together a make-up story.
Judge Keniapisia said the defendant’s own evidence with his two alibi witnesses’ evidences were intended to convince him that the defendant only arrived back at the village where the offence occurred in June 2018 after spending the Christmas of 2017 and New Year of 2018 at his wife’s village.
He said when the defendant came back from his wife’s village, the victim just walked into his house and wanted them to get married.
“As a result, they lived together in a de-factor relationship until the police came and took the victim away from him with assistance from the victim’s parents.
Judge Keniapisia said he rejected the defendant’s alibi evidence through his two alibi witnesses and added that he believed the victim’s evidence that the defendant had sexual intercourse with her on 9 March 2018.
“On my assessment she (victim) was a truthful and reliable witness.
He said the defendant on the other hand gave evidence with pride and confidence as if he was a ‘winner man.’
“Winner-man because he cared little about his own family.
“Winner-man because a teenage girl just walked into his house and wanted to marry a married man like him, he thinks.
“In fact, he took his wife and kids to his wife’s place faraway in East Bauro.
“He came back to Arosi 2, as a free man.
“With that freedom, he took advantage and ruined the sexual sanctuary of the complainant (victim), a child, who is also a close relative of the defendant.”
Judge Keniapisia said if the defendant could play his game to deceive his own wife and his own relative (the victim) then in his opinion, he would care very little to tell the court any truth.
He said the defendant was victorious again in deceiving a female child after his first victory in deceiving his wife.
“That was the same position of confidence and pride from which he gave his evidence in court.
“That was the same position from which his evidence lacks logic in my ears.
“If it is not logical, then perhaps it is not true.”
Man who receives stolen property awaits sentence
A MAN who received some of the valuable items that were stolen from a house at Tasahe B, Guadalcanal Province on New Year’s Day last year is waiting for his sentence on October 31.
Solomon Mewa had pleaded guilty to the charge of Receiving Stolen Property.
He was initially charged with his co-accused Felix Menapi for the charge of Larceny in a Dwelling House.
Menapi had pleaded not guilty to the charge and is waiting for his trial in the Honiara Magistrate’s Court.
Mewa’s charge was later reduced following a proposal made by his lawyer to the prosecution to reduce the charge in exchange for a guilty plea.
The two charges relate to an incident on 1 January 2022, at Tasahe B.
It was alleged that Menapi and another male person allegedly stole valuable items consisting of chattel boxes of electrical power tools, Bluetooth speakers, water holding containers, set cooking pots, kitchen utensils, and other items from a dwelling house.
The value of the items is over $86,000.
Mewa received some of the stolen items, of which, the police recovered some of them.
Roria Sikua of Public Solicitor’s Office represented Mewa whilst her colleague Bobby Harunari is representing Menapi.
Public Prosecutor Steward Tonowane is appearing for the Crown.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
