BY ROMINAH FAKA
The High Court has sentenced a 21-year-old man to three years imprisonment for attempted rape.
The sentence was delivered on the July 28, 2025 by Judge John A Keniapisia.
The defendant who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted rape.
The court imposed a starting point of eight years imprisonment.
The aggravating factors court took into consideration are; isolated spot, age disparity where the defendant 21 and victim is 15 years old a six ages disparity, the psychological harm and trauma, weak and vulnerable, pre-planning and some force.
For these aggravating factors, court combined and uplifted the starting point sentence by six more years, giving one for each aggravating factor. This brings it to 14 years head sentence before mitigation.
The court also considers the mitigating factors, early guilty plea, rehabilitation, first time offender with no prior conviction.
For this, court deducted a total of 11 years which leave defendant to serve 3 years imprisonment.
The defendant is also entitled to pre-trial detention deductions if any.
The fact of the case is that the incident occurred on May 3, 2023 at Central Island Province.
On that day the victim and her aunt paddled to the mangrove to look for shells.
While they were searching for shells, the compliant’s aunt wanted to smoke but she did not bring her smoking pipe.
The complainant’s aunt went and dropped the victim off and she walked to her village where she lived.
When the victim arrived at another area, she saw an individual and the defendant.
She then asked the other individual with the defendant whether the bush road that leads to her village was clean to which he replied “yes”.
The complainant left them and followed the road.
Upon reaching the middle of the bush road, the complainant was shocked when the defendant came from behind, shut her mouth with his hand and held her right breast.
The victim then dropped the bags of shell with the paddle down.
The defendant held her arm tightly and pushed her towards a big tree, pressing her against the tree.
At the same time, the defendant pulled her skirt and ripped it off.
The defendant struggled to have sexual intercourse with the complainant however, he was unable to as the victim cried and told the defendant she will tell her father about what he did to her.
The defendant then let her go.
He apologised to her and told her not to tell anyone about what he did.
The victim went home and her parents were not at home so she went to the garden, where she told her mother about the incident.
Monica Rehomora is prosecuting and Ben Alasia acts for the defendant.
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