By VARANISESE NASILASILA
Three men have been sentenced to jail for one count of rape to a 17 year old girl, yesterday.
The victim, who was a newcomer to the village where these three men lived, had to move in with her aunt where the incident later took place in the middle of the night by the first accused.
First accused who is 23 years of age was charged 12 years imprisonment for allegedly raping the victim twice compared to the other accused who were being sentenced to 11 years, by High Court Judge, Justice Paul Madigan.
“For each accused, I take a starting point of eleven years imprisonment in accordance with the authorities, whereas for the first accused will serve a total of 12 years for abusing the same victim twice,” he said.
The twenty-three year old will be eligible for parole after serving nine years, where the other two accused, a twenty-seven and a twenty-eight year old will need to serve a total of 8 years for parole.
Hon. Mr. Justice Paul Madigan also said that, “These offences were rapes that were opportunistic and which took advantage of a young lady who the court saw to be vulnerable and unsophisticated.”
The incident had taken place between 1st and 31st January, 2012.