Police v Ielome [2006] WSSC 4 (20 January 2006)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT APIA

BETWEEN

POLICE
Prosecution

AND

USA IELOME
male of Lepa Aleipata.
Accused

Counsel: P Chang for prosecution
Accused in person

Sentence: 20 January 2006

SENTENCE

The charge

The accused is charged under s.53 of the Crimes Ordinance 1961 with the offence of having sexual intercourse with a girl over the age of 12 years and under the age of 16 years which carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment. To the charge the accused has pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

The offending

The real village of the accused is Lepa but at the time of this offence he was staying at the village of Letogo to assist with the construction of the house of one of his relatives. On Thursday night, 3 November 2005, at about 2.30am, the victim who is 15 years of age ran away from her home at Letogo and went to the house where the accused was staying in the same village. She asked the accused to elope with her and that if they did not she would commit suicide. As it appears from the pre-sentence report prepared by the probation service, the accused told the probation service that at first he thought it was a joke. However, the victim later returned the same night with a backpack filled with her clothes. The accused also told the probation service that he had said to the victim he had no money to pay for the bus fare to his family at Lepa but the victim insisted that they walked all the way from Letogo to Apia to catch the early bus to Lepa. So they walked all the way from Letogo to Apia in the early hours of the morning which is quite a long way. In Apia, they were able to catch a free ride to Lepa in a bus of which a relative of the accused is the driver. That same night the accused and the victim had sexual intercourse twice. They stayed for two days at the accused’s family at Lepa until the police arrived and brought the accused into police custody.

The accused also told the probation service that the parents of the victim have approved of their daughter’s marriage to him as the victim has threatened to commit suicide if she does not live forever with the accused. The father of the victim also appeared and told the Court that the family of the accused has performed a ifoga (formal apology) to his family and he has accepted it so that the matter has been reconciled and settled.

The accused

The accused is a 23 year old male from the village of Lepa. He is single and works his own plantation from which he earns $200 a week when he sells his produce at the market in Apia. The testimonials from the catechist of his church and the pulenu’u of his village show the accused to be an obedient, respectful and well-mannered young man. The accused’s parents also told the probation service that the accused is a very responsible member of their household and that he dearly loves his parents. The accused is also a first offender. All of this shows that the accused had been a person of good character prior to the commission of the present offence.

The victim

Apart from what has been mentioned about the victim, there is no other information about her.

Aggravating circumstances

There are really no aggravating circumstances in this case.

Mitigating circumstances

There are several mitigating circumstances in this case. The accused pleaded guilty to the charge at the earliest opportunity. The accused’s family has performed an ifoga to the family of the victim and it was accepted with the consequential reconciliation. The accused is also a first offender. He had been a person of good character prior to the commission of this offence. The age of the accused which is 23 years is also relevant.

It is also relevant in mitigation of penalty that it was the victim herself who approached the accused and initiated this offence. She went to the accused twice at night and asked him to elope with her. She threatened to commit suicide if they did not. In other words she wholeheartedly consented to all that happened. Her parents have also approved of her marriage to the accused as she has threatened to commit suicide if she does not live forever with the accused.

The decision

In the circumstances of this case, I have decided to order the accused to come up for sentence if called upon in the next 9 months. What that means is that if the accused does not re-offend in the next 9 months that will be the end of this matter. If, however, he re-offends within that period of time, he can be brought before the Court again and re-sentenced on the present charge. The accused must keep this order in mind for it is in his interests not to re-offend within the next 9 months.

CHIEF JUSTICE