Felix Chaudhary 
A Lautoka man who raped his stepdaughter when he was 36-years-old and she was 10 was jailed for 14 years by the High Court in Lautoka.
During sentencing, High Court Judge Justice Riyaz Hamza said the man had taken advantage of his stepdaughter’s vulnerability, helplessness and naivety.
He said the accused had exposed the innocent mind of a child to sexual activity at such a tender age and thereby robbed his stepdaughter of her innocence.
Justice Hamza also said she has been emotionally and psychologically traumatized by her stepfather’s actions and there was a large disparity in age between him and the complainant.
The High Court judge said he had taken into account the accused was now 44, his wife was recently diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer which was verified by a gynecology specialist, his 5-year-old child was autistic, and he was the primary caregiver.
However, Justice Hamza said as unfortunate as the accused’s circumstances were, they were strictly personal issues and could not be considered as mitigating circumstances.
The High Court Judge had calculated a 17-year sentence but said the State took into account that the accused deeply regretted his actions, was genuinely remorseful and a first offender and discounted his sentence by three years.
During proceedings in court it was revealed that the accused had been in a de-facto relationship with the victim’s mother and they were living with the complainant’s grandmother in Lautoka at the time of the incident.
The offences occurred between July 1, 2017, and July 31, 2017 when the victim was only 10 years old.
However, at the time she testified, she had turned 17.
