Source-Daily Observer: A man in his late 20’s will be spending 17 years in prison for having sexual intercourse with his niece on two occasions, as well as touching her inappropriately on another.
At the age of 12, the victim shared a room with her 24-year-old uncle but with separate beds.
The two lived in a home along with their grandmother and other family members. The victim’s grandmother had taken her in since she was three years-old.
One night in 2019, the young girl felt someone on top of her and woke up to find the buttons of her shorts undone and her uncle “winking-up” on her.
The following morning, she reported the matter to her grandmother who confronted the defendant.
He denied the claim but was still kicked out of the house for a while.
In November 2020, a fire at the house forced the grandmother to sleep in a shop outside, while the minor and her uncle still stayed in their room.
The complainant was sleeping on her side one night and woke up at around 2:00am to a feeling of something inside her; her uncle was having sexual intercourse with her.
She pushed him away and he turned his back to her, pretending to be asleep.
Because her grandmother was not in the house, she sat up on the bed until the sun came up, at which time, she quickly told the adult what happened.
Again, the defendant denied it and was kicked out of the house.
The next incident of incest occurred on June 28, 2021.
The young girl had just returned to the house after spending some time with her mother and was unpacking.
The defendant came out of the shower in his underpants and was getting dressed.
They had a conversation during which she told him he looked like a thief. He responded referring to himself as a ‘bad man,’ and then came over to her and touched her breasts before pushing her unto the bed and putting clothes over her face.
He held her down with one hand, and used the other to remove her shorts, engaging in sexual intercourse with her again.
Afterwards, she contacted her aunt because she found it unhelpful to confide in her grandmother.
The aunt called the grandmother and she asked him about it. He claimed he’d just touched her breasts. The grandmother beat him and then took the young girl to the police station.
The accused was later charged with one count of indecent assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, and two counts of incest which can lead to life imprisonment.
On January 25, 2024, the defendant was found guilty by a jury, and yesterday, Justice Ann Marie Smith sentenced him to 17 years imprisonment for each count of incest and 2 years for indecent assault.
The sentences were made to run concurrently.
His time on remand will also be deducted by the prison authorities.
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