State v Daulali [2020] FJHC 749; HAC050.2020 (8 September 2020)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI

AT SUVA

[CRIMINAL JURISDICTION]

CRIMINAL CASE NO. HAC 050 OF 2020

STATE

V

SAULA DAULALI

Counsel: Ms U Tamanikaiyaroi for the State

Mr K Chang for the Accused

Date of Hearing: 6 August 2020

Date of Sentence: 8 September 2020

SENTENCE

[1] The offender has pleaded guilty to a representative charge of indecent assault and one count of digital rape. He is 56 years old, married, unemployed and resides at Nukubuco settlement, Suva.

[2] The victim is a 9-year old niece of the offender. She is a primary school student. The victim was sexually abused over a period of one year by the offender in her home in 2019.

[3] The representative charge represents one episode of rubbing or fondling the victim’s genitals over her clothes. On one occasion the offender performed cunnilingus on the victim after removing her underwear (rape charge). He gave a $2 coin to keep her quiet from complaining. The victim’s mother got suspicious when she saw the offender had his hand on the victim’s thighs. She took the victim to their bedroom and upon prodding the victim relayed to her that the offender had been abusing her. The offender confessed to the allegations to police.

[4] The mitigating factors are the offender’s early guilty pleas and previous good character. The guilty pleas have relieved the victim of the trauma of giving evidence and saved the court’s time and resources. The guilty pleas are consistent with the admissions the offender made to police. He says he is genuinely remorseful for his crimes.

[5] The aggravating factors are that the victim was vulnerable due to her gender and young age. Her trust was breached. She was abused by a family member in her home.

[6] When children are sexually abused the harm to their mental health is significant. In her victim impact statement the victim has stated that she was frightened of the offender and that she is now frightened of the older men in her family because of what the offender did to her.

[7] Rape is punishable by life imprisonment. Indecent assault is punishable by 5 years’ imprisonment. I am also guided by the applicable tariffs. The sentence of the offender must reflect the principles of denunciation and deterrence because sexual abuse of children are too prevalent in our community.

[8] Finally a downward adjustment is made to the sentence to reflect the period the offender spent in custody on remand since he was arrested on 6 January 2020.

[9] The offender is convicted and sentenced to 2 years’ for indecent assault and 12 years’ for rape, to be served concurrently. A non-parole period of 10 years is fixed.

[10] The offender shall be subject of a DVRO with no contact and non molestation conditions for the rest of his life.

. ...........................................
Hon. Mr Justice Daniel Goundar
Solicitors:
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for the State
Legal Aid Commission for the Accused