Doctor to work on accused’s mental health report
THE matter of a suspected mentally ill man accused of having unlawful sex with an underaged girl in 2021 and 2022 will return to court on May 1 this year.
The adjournment was made yesterday to allow the accused’s lawyer and a psychiatrist work on a final medical report on his mental health.
The man who cannot be named to protect the identity of the alleged victim because they reside in the same village in Gela, Central Islands Province, is facing a charge of Persistent Sexual Abuse of a Child.
He allegedly committed the offences on seven separate occasions between January 2021 and November 2022.
The alleged victim was only six years of age when the first incident occurred in 2021.
14 months jail term for burglar
A MAN who was caught breaking into a canteen in a village in Isabel Province in 2020 has been sentenced to 14 months in prison.
Erick Kofigita was sentenced yesterday after he pleaded guilty to one count of House Breaking and Committing Felony.
Principal Magistrate, Felix Hollison, when sentencing the defendant, said with this custodial sentence, he hopes it will transform the life of the defendant and instil in him good manners and basic respect for other people’s property.
The incident occurred on 10 September 2020 at Thitiro Village, Maringe District in Isabel Province.
The complainant runs a canteen at his house.
On the day of the offence, his wife and daughter left for gardening, leaving the complainant alone at home.
Not long after his wife and daughter left, the complainant locked the canteen and went to the toilet which is about 7 to 10 metres from his house.
It was heard that whilst inside the toilet, the complainant heard someone trying to open the door of his house and so he hurried back to the house.
Upon arrival at the front door, he noticed that the hinge of the door to the canteen was dislocated.
The court heard that the complainant, after two attempts to open the door, managed to open it and was shocked to see the defendant inside his canteen.
He asked the defendant to put back anything he had taken and the defendant handed him $150 and escaped.
The defendant was later arrested.
Magistrate Hollison said the manner in which the offence was committed depicted premeditation on the part of the defendant.
“As soon as the complainant walked to the toilet, he quickly broke into the complainant’s house and canteen,” he said.
Magistrate Hollison added that the defendant had stolen $150 but was recovered because the complainant reacted swiftly to the suspicious sound he heard coming from his house whilst he was in the toilet.
“The hinge to the door of the canteen was also dislocated, which means damage was occasioned to it.
“There was no mention of any weapon in the agreed facts. However, the Crown stated in court [that] a knife was used to gain entry.”
Magistrate Hollison also gave credit to Kofigita for his early guilty plea. He also took into consideration that the fact that he is a first-time offender, his cooperation with the police and his personal circumstances, including his young age.
The time that Kofigita spent in custody was also considered.
Man gets 4 years for buggery
A MAGISTRATE has described the action of a man who confessed to having unnatural sex with a 12-year-old boy in Honiara last year as ‘disgusting, evil and sodomic.’
Principal Magistrate, Felix Hollison, made these remarks when sentencing the 36-year-old man to four years in jail yesterday.
“The action of the defendant is disgusting, evil and sodomic.”
He added that the action would have a long-lasting psychological effect on the complainant.
“Such people have no place in our society and he (has) forfeited his right to live within the community for a certain period of time and this custodial sentence ensures that this is achieved,” he added.
Magistrate Hollison said the courts have said it time and again that whatever form of sexual violence will not be tolerated and he is bound by the authorities he cited to uphold those sentiments.
The court heard the incident occurred on an unknown date between 1 and 30 November 2022 at the residence of the defendant’s sister in Honiara.
It was heard that during the night of the offence, the complainant and some boys went to a house to watch a dancing programme.
It was thereafter that the defendant committed the offence on the complainant.
It was further heard that the incident was never known until a video clip and photos showing what happened were circulated around the area.
The video clip and photos were taken by the defendant himself using his phone.
Someone else saw the clip and photos and circulated them in their community.
The complainant’s father reported the matter to the police and the defendant was arrested and charged.
The prosecution had submitted that not only was the offence non-consensual but an unnatural sexual intercourse.
They had submitted that in any event, consent is a non-issue and cannot negate this offence.
The prosecution also submitted that the defendant’s capturing of what happened on video and camera aggravated this offense.
The court was asked to consider holding the defendant responsible for the leakage because the circulation of the images and videos could have a serious effect on the complainant.
Considering that submission, Magistrate Hollison said he took judicial notice of the fact that cyberbullying has increased in the country and even cost the lives of some young Solomon Islanders recently.
He then imposed a final sentence of four years imprisonment and ordered that the time the defendant spent in custody be deducted from the sentence.
