A man convicted in a sexually related case involving his 15-year-old stepdaughter who got pregnant as a result has been sentenced to five years in jail.
To protect the identity of the victim, Radio Polynesia will not publish the name of the defendant who is from Nofoali’i.
Sentencing was handed down by Supreme Court Justice, Niaava Mata Keli Tuatagaloa this week.
Her Honours pointed out that there is the vulnerability of the victim not only in the familial relationship with the defendant but also in the difference in age.
Tuatagalia found the most aggravating the fact that the young victim became pregnant and would become a mother at a very young age.
“Experiences young girls usually go through as teenagers with their peers and completing her education, this young victim will miss out on as she is now responsible for raising a child.”
Citing that consent is a non-issue whereas the victim is a young girl “and whether the victim initiated the sexual advances, there are laws in place that protect them from themselves by making consent immaterial.
Adding that “victims of sexual offending have to live with the long-term emotional and psychological scars that remain as well as the negative stigma attached to such a traumatic experience.”
Justice Tuatagaloa says this is “the worst type of domestic violence that our young daughters and young girls are facing within the homes and in our community.
“It is happening within the environnment where young girls are supposed to be safe for they are surrounded by family and people they know and trust and as seen in this case, even in the hands of a father albeit a stepfather.
Such offending continues to have a profound negative impact on young girls as sadly, it’s becoming more prevalent.”
