A 63-year-old man was sentenced to eight-years imprisonment with no suspension for three charges, that included raping a woman on Tongatapu.
Hon. Mr Justice Cooper sentenced him on one count of rape and two for indecent assault in 2022. He was earlier convicted after a trial, at the Supreme Court in Nuku’alofa.
The judge issued an order under section 119 that no detail of this case is to be published that could lead to the identification of the victim.
“The Probation report stated that the defendant showed little remorse.
“The starting point must be 5 years’ imprisonment, which the judge increased to eight years imprisonment, after considering various aggravating factors.
“No term ought to be suspended in the light of his age, demonstrated unwillingness to rehabilitate given this offence and his previous conviction,” said the judge.
“In the light of all those factors and the gravity of the offence itself, rape being a form of sexual violence, it would not be appropriate to suspend any part of his sentence and I decline to.”
The defendant was then sentenced to eight-years’ imprisonment to run from the date he was detained in police custody earlier this year.
