BY ROMINAH FAKA
The High Court has sentenced a 25-year-old man to 11 years’ imprisonment for the rape of an underage girl.
The sentence was delivered by Judge Augustine Sylver Aulanga on Monday, July 21, 2025 at the Auki High Court Circuit.
The defendant who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim was rearraigned on July 18, and pleaded guilty to a single charge of rape of a child, contrary to section 135 F (1) (a) and (b) of the Penal Code (Amendment) (Sexual Offences) Act 2016.
Both prosecution and defence agreed that an immediate custodial sentence is the appropriate sentence, given the seriousness of the offence.
Prosecution suggested a sentence ranging from 10 to 12 years while the defence proposed six to nine years’ custodial time.
In considering the appropriate sentence, court considered the defendant’s circumstances in this case, his aggravating and mitigating factors, including the recent increase in sentencing for this offence as prescribed by the Court of Appeal.
The victim was 16 years old at the time the offence was committed.
Facts presented from the case say that in September, 2024, both the defendant and victim had boarded a public motor vehicle and were travelling with other passengers.
The defendant was working as a crew member of the vehicle.
When the vehicle reached the village, the victim got off and walking on a footpath, was making her way to her house.
During this time, it was already later in the day, the sun had set so it was dark.
The defendant also made his way out of the vehicle and started to follow the victim.
As the victim continued walking along the footpath, she was approached by the defendant who came to her from behind, asking her to have sexual intercourse.
She refused his request and immediately, the defendant moved close and bit her on the left side of her neck and on the top of her breast.
The defendant then pulled her into the bush beside the road and raped her.
She struggled to resist him but was unable to given that the defendant was physically big and stronger than her.
Court heard that the defendant after raping the victim walked away.
After the offence, the victim walked back to her house crying and informed her aunt of what the defendant had done to her.
The matter was later reported to the police and the defendant was charged with rape.
In delivering the sentence for this case, court took into consideration the aggravating factors present in the case.
One of these factors is the age disparity of nine years between the defendant and the victim which denotes the power imbalance that existed between the defendant and victim, making her defenseless, vulnerable and easily overpowered by the defendant during the time of the offence.
Secondly, the physical injuries sustained by the victim before and during the time she was raped.
Thirdly, from the medical report, she suffered psychological trauma and bleeding to her private part as a result of the offence.
The offence also took place in the evening which meant that there was a breach of trust as the defendant was a crew member of the vehicle the victim was travelling in.
There is also the victim impact statement filed by the prosecution on the victim’s physical and mental health effects which can have a long impact on her.
Lastly, the fact that there is an unprecedented increase of rape cases of young girls in Solomon Islands and the wider public concern regarding the disturbing rise of this type of offence in our communities.
Court stressed that it has a duty to respond to this widespread public concern in the community by ensuring that an appropriate sentence is imposed and one that will send a clear message that those who commit the offence will expect an immediate and lengthy custodial sentence if convicted.
Court therefore, imposed a starting point of eight years imprisonment.
In light of the aggravating factors, court added five years imprisonment to the starting point, making it a total of 13 years imprisonment.
The sentence was reduced by two years to reflect the defendant’s mitigating factors and personal factors such as his guilty plea, being a first-time offender, his remorse and the fact that he is still a single person.
The court therefore, sentenced the defendant to 11 years imprisonment. Time spent in custody is to be taken into account.
Samuel Tovosia acted for the crown while Mr Harunari acted for the defendant.
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