Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
[File Photo]
A man has been sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment for raping his 13-year-old niece in May 2024.
The court heard that while the victim was assisting her uncle with farm work, he led her to a secluded area under a tree.
Armed with a cane knife, the 58-year-old man forced the girl to the ground and sexually assaulted her despite her pleas for him to stop.
He then threatened her with consequences if she revealed what had happened.
The matter came to light in July 2024 when the victim, a Class 8 student, confided in a classmate.
The information was relayed to a teacher and the head of the school, who subsequently reported the incident to the Nakasi Police Station.
High Court Judge Justice Pita Bulamainaivalu, while sentencing the man, stated that it was an incestuous and heinous rape of a vulnerable teenager.
Justice Bulamainaivalu said the man had acted opportunistically and atrociously by raping his niece at her most vulnerable moment while she was alone and assisting him on the farm.
The Judge added that the act has undoubtedly caused the victim emotional and psychological trauma.
The man will serve 13 years behind bars with a non-parole period of 12 years.
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