A child sex offender was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment by the Supreme Court of Tonga after he pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual offences to three young female children.
In sentencing the 42-year-old father on 26 April Acting Justice Langi directed that “the identity of all parties taken in these proceedings shall not be published in the Kingdom in a written publication to the public or be broadcast in the Kingdom.”
“This sentence is not only to punish the offender but to also reflect public disdain for sexual assaults on children and to serve as a deterrent for would-be offenders,” stated the judge.
The Defendant took advantage of the victims’ vulnerability to commit the offences. The offending was premeditated as he repeatedly committed the acts when his wife was away.
On 26 February the accused pleaded guilty to the six charges, including two counts of Carnal Knowledge of a child contrary to section 121(1) of the Criminal Offences Act; two counts of Indecent Assault on a Child contrary to section 125 of the Criminal Offences Act and two counts of Serious Indecent Assault contrary to section 124 of the Criminal Offences Act.
Offending
The complainant was the natural mother of the three victims.
The offending occurred in 2021 when the man had carnal knowledge of his stepdaughter (Victim 2) aged 10 years old. In the same year he indecently assaulted another stepdaughter (Victim 3) aged 12 years old.
In early 2022 the complainant found a phone video in the defendant’s phone showing him sexually abusing V3. The child told her mother that she was threatened by the Defendant not to tell any of the things he had done to her.
He admitted the offending and promised it would never happen again. He was forgiven and as a result the matter was not reported to the police.
Then in June 2023 the Defendant sexually abused his biological daughter (Victim 1) while she was only 8 years old.
The daughters told their mother in July 2023 and the complainant then lodged a formal complaint with the Police. The Defendant was arrested and charged with all of the sexual offences committed against the three victims.
The defendant pleaded guilty, confessed to the crimes and had no previous convictions. He was the main breadwinner for the family. Prior to getting married he was recognised to be a good citizen.
Predatory assaults
The victim impact report considered the physical harm to the victims, and the degree of violation on a very young minor, as well as the mental trauma.
The Judge said the offending was at the top of the scale of seriousness.
“The Courts have a duty to protect our children from sexual predators and to ensure that the punishment is proportionate to the crime,” she said.
“The individual circumstances of the accused in this case are, in my view, at the very top of the scale in terms of seriousness. Some have been highlighted by the Crown in the aggravating factors:
“In addition, the accused committed the offences over a prolonged period of time and the act of taking videos of the sexual abuse against V3 upsurges the seriousness of the offending.”
The judge set the starting point for Count 1 (carnal knowledge of V1) at 15 years imprisonment. For count 3 (Indecent assault of V1) a sentence of 2 years imprisonment to be served concurrent to Count 1;
For Count 2 (carnal knowledge of V2) 15 years imprisonment and Count 4 (indecent assault of V2) the Defendant was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment concurrent with Count 2.
“Because the offending in Count 1 and 2 involve separate victims and times, I order that 7 years from the sentence in Count 2 is cumulative to the sentence in Count 1. This makes a total of 22 years imprisonment;.
“For counts 5 & 6 (indecent assault on V3) the Defendant is sentenced to two years imprisonment on each count making a total of 4 years to be served concurrently. Because V3 was also a separate victim, I order that 2 years from this sentence is added cumulative to Count 1 (and 2). This adds up to a total of 24 years imprisonment.
“I deduct one third off the final sentence for the mitigating factors of early guilty plea and having no previous convictions. The end result is 16 years imprisonment,” ruled the judge.
The final two years of the final sentence were suspended for three years from the date of his release (meaning he will serve a total of 14 years imprisonment). “This sentence is not only to punish the offender but to also reflect public disdain for sexual assaults on children and to serve as a deterrent for would-be offenders,” the judge stated.
