Apenisa Waqairadovu 
[file photo]
A man has been jailed for the second time for raping another minor.
The 58-year-old from Taveuni was sentenced to 11 years in 2014 for raping an 11-year-old girl and this time around he was convicted by the court for the rape of a five-year-old in April this year.
He lured the child to bring his phone to him and while watching Tiktok with her, he committed the crime.
His lawyer in their sentencing submission says he is married with 11 children, three of them financially depends on him.
The offender has a number of health issues, including diabetes, which resulted in amputation of his right leg below the knee.
The prosecution informed the court that the culprit is the uncle of the victim’s mother and the child referred to him as grandfather.
The lawyer said that the offending is serious as the complainant is vulnerable, young and there has been a serious breach of trust.
The judge told the man that he is a repeat sex offender and the lengthy term of imprisonment imposed on him in 2014 neither deterred his repeat offending nor rehabilitated him.
He says protection of the community is his overriding purpose in light of his concluded view that the offender is a committed pedophile.
He adds that the man re-offended within a few years of being released from a lengthy sentence for rape of a young child.
He has been handed a 10-years imprisonment with a non-parole period of eight years and nine months.
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