A 33-year-old man has been jailed for 3 years after he was found guilty of carnal knowledge in an incident involving his 9-year-old first cousin.
The sentence was delivered by Chief Justice, His Honour Patu Tiava’asu’e Falefatu Sapolu on Monday.
The name of defendant cannot be revealed to prevent the victim from being identified.
The incident occurred on 4 June this year. The young girl was sleeping with her grandmother and siblings when she was suddenly woken by someone touching her.
When the defendant realised that the girl was awake, he ran and in the process alarmed the girl’s brother and her grandmother.
The Court was told that the victim knew the defendant since they were first cousins. Besides, the defendant was easily identified by his cousin because of his “bushy hair.”
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Chief Justice Patu slammed the the incident, calling it “culturally insensitive.”
He also pointed out to the defendant that in the Samoan culture, he should have treated the victim as his sister.
The defendant had denied the charge. As a result of his not guilty plea, a trial had to be called which meant his young victim had to relive what happened.
Chief Justice Patu said this meant the defendant was not remorseful.
It was also revealed during the hearing by the defendant’s grandmother that she was tired of being penalised by their village because of the defendant’s behaviour.
“This is an indication that he wasn’t of good character prior to the incident,” said Chief Justice Patu.
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