Public Prosecutor v Tallis [2008] VUSC 51; Criminal Case 61 of 2008 (8 July 2008)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF VANUATU
(Criminal Jurisdiction)

Criminal Case No. 61 of 2008

PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

-V-

DOUGLAS TALLIS

Coram: Justice C. N TUOHY

Counsel: Mr. Laumae for Prosecution
Mr. Loughman for Defendant

Date of Sentence: 8th July 2008

SENTENCE

1. Douglas Tallis you appear for sentence after you pleaded guilty and were convicted on two charges of committing an act of indecency on a person under the age of 15 years. That is an offence under section 98A of the Penal Code Act and it carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.
   
2. The victim in the case is 13 years of age and she lives close by you in Pango village and she is a relative of yours. She is the granddaughter of your brother. You have lived close by for many years.
   
3. The charges to which you pleaded guilty involved you on one occasion getting the girl to come inside your house, then pushing her onto the bed, putting coconut oil on her private part, her vagina, and then twice licking her there. And then on a later occasion in the same week, you again got her into your house on the pretence of helping you to do your clothes up. But then you closed the door behind her and you pushed your finger into her vagina and that caused her pain which is not surprising given the circumstances and given her age. You then gave her VT50 and told her to go off and play.
   
4. Not long after she told her parents what had happened and the matter was reported to the police and to your credit you immediately admitted to the police that this was all true and you pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
   
5. Both counsel have referred me to other cases before the Vanuatu Courts, especially the Court of Appeal, which give guidelines to me, to the this Court, as to the appropriate sentence.
   
6. This case involves a couple of aggravating factors. First, the difference in age between you. You are in your fifties and she was only 13, of course this offence specifically relates to people under the age of consent which is 15 here. The second aggravating factor is that she was family of yours living close by and you were in a position of trust in relation to her and what you did breached that family trust in a very serious way.
   
7. On the credit side, you have not previously appeared before. You pleaded guilty straight away which is important because it shows remorse and it also saves the complainant, the stress of having to give evidence before a Court which she would have to do if you had pleaded not guilty. So that is always recognized by the Court.
   
8. You have offered a custom ceremony of reconciliation, but the family is not ready to accept that and I can understand their feelings. They consider that you should first serve a term of imprisonment and then maybe some reconciliation should be looked at.
   
9. Having considered the cases referred to me by counsel, in particular the case of PP v. Gideon, where the Court said that a start sentence of 4 years would be appropriate. That was in a case though where there was full sexual intercourse and that carries a higher penalty. Having regard to that case particularly I consider that the appropriate starting point in your case is 3 years imprisonment. I intend to reduce that by 1 year taking into account your plea of guilty and the fact that you have had no previous convictions.
   
10. So the sentence of the Court effectively will be 2 years imprisonment. The law requires that I have to take off the time you have already served and that I am told is since the 3rd May. It is now the 9th July, so I will say that you’ve been in custody for 2 months and 1 week. So the sentence of the Court will be 1 year 9 months and 3 weeks imprisonment from now. That takes into account the time in custody.
    

Dated at Port Vila, this 8th day of July, 2008

BY THE COURT

C.N. TUOHY
Judge