[Published on Saturday, 18 April 2026]
BY MELVILLE TITIULU
The Court of Appeal on Monday, April 13, resentenced a man found guilty of ‘compelled rape’ to 24 years imprisonment.
The appellant was initially sentenced to 17 years imprisonment by the High Court in 2024 after he was convicted of two counts in relation to compelled rape contrary to section 136 G (a) and (b) of Penal Code (amendment) (Sexual offences) Act 2016.
According to the agreed facts, on the 19th November 2023, the appellant confronted the two complainants, a young couple. The appellant threatened them with a pair of scissors, saying that they must follow what he tells them to do or he would kill them. This threat of violence compelled them to engage in sexual acts as directed. The appellant later ‘degraded and humiliated’ them by recording those acts and later disseminating the videos on social media.
The appeal Justices noted in their judgement that the victim’s humiliation was not confined to the scene of the offence but perpetuated by the public exposure of the recordings through online dissemination.
The respondent pleaded guilty to the charges. He appealed that sentence of 17 years, contending that he should be given a lesser sentence. The hearing into the appeal was heard on 7th April 2025.
The Court of appeal Justices noted that ‘’A lawful, proportionate, and just sentence in the circumstances of this case would be in the range of 20 to 30 years imprisonment’’.
It follows, the Appeal Justices also noted that the further ‘aggravating residual factors’ could uplift the initial sentencing. These included: ‘’the viral dissemination of the video recording of the sexual acts and the identities of the victims clearly depicted the lifelong trauma that the victim have been put through and having to undergo professional counselling’’.
The complainant therefore had to undergo a medical examination at the National Referral Hospital and was further referred for professional counselling at the Family Support Centre.
The appeal justices were of the view that the proper starting point is one of 20 years with a further uplift of 10 years for the mentioned residual aggravating factors. Thus, dismissed the appellant appeal and resentenced him to 24 years imprisonment
The Court of Appeal Justices also recommended the Parliament to pass legislation to criminalise ‘cyber-enabled sexual exploitation’ in Solomon Islands with the need to introduce cybercrime and sexual exploitation legislations to help regulate this sort of offending in the country.
The Court of Appeal Justices include Sir John Baptist Muria, Justice Les Gavara-Nanu and Justice Howard Lowry.
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