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Public Prosecutor v Peter [2009] VUSC 25; Criminal Case 10 of 2009 (17 April 2009)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF VANUATU
(Criminal Jurisdiction)

Criminal Case No. 10 of 2009

PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

V

PAKON PETER

Coram: Justice N. R. DAWSON

Date of Hearing: 17th April, 2009
Date of Decision: 17th April, 2009

Counsels: Mr. A. Obed for Public Prosecutor
Mr. T. Loughman for Accused

SENTENCE

1. You appear in Court today for sentencing on three counts of incest.

2. You are the step father of the victim. The first offence committed by you upon her occurred sometime in 1997 when she was a student Fresh Wind Primary School and was aged 10 years of age. Sometime in that year when the victim finished school one day and went home nobody was inside the house except you. When she entered the house you called her and asked her to come inside your room where you were. When she entered the room you told her to remove her clothes. She was scared but she obeyed you and then slept on the floor. You removed you trousers and you penetrated the victim. She did not reveal to anyone what had happened to her and you continued to have sexual intercourse with her from that time. In 2000 the victim yourself and your family moved from Ohlen Freshwind and settled in Mele area. During that year you had sexual intercourse again with the victim. This occurred when you both went to collect firewood in the bush. You continued to have sexual intercourse with her from that time and she conceived her first born son as a result of your offending against her. You continue to have sexual intercourse with her from time to time until 2008. The victim has had three children fathered by you.

3. Mr. Pakon I have read the submissions from the Public Prosecutor and Public Solicitor on your behalf and I have also read the probation report.

4. In sentencing you today there are sentencing factors that I must take into account when I sentence you. The first is I need to promote within you a sensible responsibility and to impress upon you your wrongfulness of your behaviour towards your step daughter. You should be in no doubt whatsoever that the community denounces this behaviour and finds it totally repugnant and unacceptable. Your sentence needs to reflect the need to deter people like yourself and others who may think in a similar way that these crimes cannot be allowed to occur.

5. There are aggravating features to your offending. The first is the harm that you have caused to the victim by your repeated offending over many years. The victim now has three children to you and the offending has continued for many years beginning when she is only 10 years of age. I has been noted that you have largely ruined her opportunity to live a normal life by the offences that you have committed upon her. There is a serious abuse of trust involved in that she is your step daughter and she was a mere 10 years of age when you commenced offending against her. The victim is extremely vulnerable to your offending as she was very young at the time of the first offence and it appears that you have trained her into a form of acceptance of this type of offending. Offending of this type also requires degree of premeditation.

6. In mitigation you have entered guilty pleas at an early stage and through your counsel’s submissions you have indicated some remorse. You have no previous convictions on your record and that is also to your credit.

7. The probation report notes that from interviewing you, that you appear to be indicating that you committed the offences against your step daughter because your wife’s medical condition prevented her from having sexual intercourse with you. You also says you feel no remorse for what you have done because your wife knew about the offending and did not complain. You have also indicated that you have no intention to perform any custom ceremony with the victim. The report notes that you have 8 children, 5 to your wife and 3 now with your step daughter. You appear to have good community support in Mele Village. I have to note, with a considerable amount of concern, that the probation report notes that victim has told the probation report writer that she intents to continue her relationship with you whenever you return. She reports that you and she had an agreement, that she would have sex relations with you and you would look after the family and her mother. That probation report indicates that you still do not appreciate or understand the wrongful nature of your offences. The indication from the victim of her intention to continue offending with you upon your release from custody shows a worrying and concerning degree of distorted thinking and you are responsible for that. It was your offending upon the girl of 10 years of age at the time of commencement of the offending who was under your care that led to her thinking in this way. You also need to understand that just because your wife is medically unfit to have sex relations with you that do not and can never justify or excuse your behaviour with your step daughter.

8. I have considered the case of the Public Prosecutor v. Bae, and other cases that have been referred to the Court. I am of the view that your offending justifies a starting point of a term of imprisonment of 3 years. I have to take into account the aggravating factors and mitigating factors. I am of the view the aggravating factors substantially outweigh the mitigating factors and you are therefore sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 3 years and 9 months for each offence and they are each to be served concurrently. Your present sentence will from today be reduced by 3 months for the time that you have already served in prison.

9. You have the right to appeal this sentence, for any appeal you must lodge a notice of appeal within 14 days of today’s date.

Dated at Port Vila, this 17th day of April, 2009

BY THE COURT

N. R. DAWSON
Judge