A 28-year-old man who raped his cousin in November 2013 has been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment by the Suva High Court.

Judge Justice Thushara Rajasinghe says the matter had progressed at a snail’s pace, consuming nearly nine years to conclude the hearing.

The accused was 19-year-old when he committed the act with a juvenile accomplice upon the victim, who was 15-years-old at the time.

Justice Rajasinghe says the trial had to be vacated on several occasions as the accused had absconded several times and delayed proceedings.

The accused had spent three months in remand and will now have to serve six years and eight months behind bars with a three-year non-parole period.