Ritika Pratap 
A 37-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years and nine months’ imprisonment for raping his sister-in-law.
The man was found guilty of two counts of rape in March by the Suva High Court.
The Court heard that the man committed the first offense between April and December 2022, while the second incident occurred in May 2023.
The victim was under the age of 13 at the time of the incident.
The victim was attending school and stayed with her two older sisters, brother-in-law, and four step-siblings.
The first incident occurred when she was in Year Five and was home alone watching TV after returning from school.
The Court heard that a year later, the accused repeated the heinous act.
She confided about the incidents to her friends at school, and the matter was reported by the teachers to the police.
High Court Judge Justice Pita Bulamainaivalu, while sentencing the man, said this is undoubtedly an incestuous and heinous rape of a vulnerable girl under the age of 13 still attending primary school.
He will have to serve 14 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.
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