A 38-year-old farmer of Cakaudrove has been sentenced to 11 years and 6 months by the Labasa High Court for criminal intimidation and rape.
The man raped his cousin on the 20th of April last year when she was at home alone in a village in Vanua Levu.
She was 18-years-old and was looking after a toddler at the time.
The man threatened his cousin with a cane knife saying that if she shouted he would stab her and the toddler.
It was heard in court that the girl managed to flee with the child and go to where her mother was working.
She was in an agitated state and told her mother what had happened.
The matter was reported to the Turaga‑ni‑Koro and then to the Police.
In his sentence, Justice Paul Madigan considered that the man trespassed into the victim’s house and sexually abused her in the presence of a child.
Justice Madigan also considered that the man put the life of a child at risk and caused the victim to flee from her home.
A non parole period of 10 years has been set.
