[Photo: FILE]
A man has been sentenced to nine years in prison by the Labasa High Court after being convicted of breaching a Domestic Violence Restraining Order. He was also found guilty of raping his former partner.
In sentencing, High Court judge Justice Lee Burney said the offending began on 22 April 2025, when the man approached the woman outside a school in Labasa, despite a restraining order being in place.
The court heard that he forced her into a taxi before she was taken to Savusavu, where she was sexually assaulted over a two-day period.
Justice Burney said the offending was aggravated by the deliberate planning involved, the public nature of the abduction, and the prolonged ordeal suffered by the complainant.
The judge also noted that the offender had continued to deny the offences and showed no remorse, factors that affected the court’s assessment of his prospects for rehabilitation.
Justice Burney adopted seven years’ imprisonment as the starting point for the rape offence before increasing the sentence to nine years after considering the aggravating and mitigating factors.
The offender was credited for the 13 months already spent in custody since his arrest in April 2025.
He will be eligible for parole after serving four years and 11 months from the date of sentencing.
The court also imposed a permanent Domestic Violence Restraining Order prohibiting any contact with the complainant unless varied by a competent court.
In the same case, the taxi driver who transported the pair was sentenced for providing false information to the police during the investigation.
The court found that he knowingly misled officers about where he had dropped off the complainant and the principal offender, causing police to waste time and resources while searching for the woman.
Justice Burney sentenced him to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, after taking into account his remorse, previous good character, and prospects for rehabilitation.
