A MAN who showed his private body part to a married woman at a Village in Isabel in 2019 will serve four months in prison after his eight months imprisonment term was partially suspended.
Watson Hiro was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of indecent assault.
He will only serve four months in jail whilst the balance of the total sentence which was also four months was suspended for 12 months.
Principal Magistrate Felix Hollison in his sentencing remarks said this sentence serves as a warning to each and everyone in this country that exposing one’s private part to another person without the consent of that other person amounts to an indecent act.
“Sexual offences and violence must be contained and curtailed at all costs and respect must be accorded to our vulnerable groups such as children, girls, women, and the elderly,” Magistrate Hollison said.
He added that Hiro must learn from his conviction and his present incarceration for the purposes of his reintegration into the community upon his release in due course.
Having compared the matter with previous similar cases, Magistrate Hollison said in this case there was no physical touching.
He said Hiro left when the victim told him that she was not a stupid woman and that she would not have sex with him.
“If only the defendant had asked her about his intention to have sex without pulling his penis out, it may not have constituted the offence of indecent act.
“Nevertheless, I am of the view that this case should be considered and categorized as one of the least serious cases of an indecent act, and it should be in the lower end of the spectrum in terms of its severity.”
He had imposed a starting point of 22 months imprisonment but then had it reduced to reflect the mitigating features and Hiro’s personal circumstances.
The incident happened at the village of the victim’s husband at Varagia Village, Katova Ward in the Isabel Province.
The court had heard that at about 4 am on 29 November 2019, the victim was at her kitchen cooking when Hiro who was looking for his daughter approached her.
It was heard Hiro told the victim he admired her which annoyed the victim and further asked her for them to have sexual intercourse.
The victim, however, refused and went and sat under her house.
It was further heard that Hiro followed the victim to where she was sitting beneath the house.
He then pulled his private body part out of his trousers and held it under his shirt whilst he asked her whether she wanted him to take it out for her.
The victim refused Hiro’s proposal by stating that she was not stupid and told him to go away or else she would shout to her in-laws who were her neighbors.
The defendant then left.
The victim’s husband was away in Honiara at the time of the incident.
She reported the matter to her husband and he took up the matter with the chiefs.
Following a meeting with the chiefs and the Crime and Prevention Committee of Varagia Village concerning the matter against Hiro in December 2019, Hiro paid a compensation of $500 and reconciled with the victim and her husband.
The matter was reported to Police on 16 March 2020.
Hiro’s sentence was ordered to be backdated to when he was first remanded in custody.
Stanley Aupai of the Public Solicitor’s Office represented Hiro while Public Prosecutor Patricia Tabepuda appeared for the Crown.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN BONGIDANI
Newsroom, Honiara
