FIJI ISLANDS: a stepfather sexually assaults and thrashes his stepdaughters

A stepfather physically assaults his two stepdaughters. The victims stay with the father and he was supposed to take care of them and not treat them with cruelty. The stepfathers not only sexually harassed his stepdaughter’s but also use to hit them. He usually thrashed them black and blue and warned them to refrain from telling about this to anyone. The neighbors complained of the stepdaughters shouting, howling and crying. One of the neighbors said that the shouting, howling and crying had gone up recently. The elder stepdaughter is seventeen years old and the younger stepdaughter is eleven years old. The stepfather had sexually assaulted his stepdaughters on eight events. He had assaulted his elder stepdaughter five times and his younger stepdaughter three times.

Justice Priyantha Fernando who is a High Court Judge was the judge of this case. The judge was very upset with the fact that this kind of crime had taken a toll in the islands. It was a very common thing to molest girls and ruthlessly beat them. Justice Fernando was very hurt to understand that this kind of crime was becoming rather very frequent. He desired to give firm punishments to such criminals as they left the victims in a disturbed and turbulent state of mind. The victims not only suffered physically but also mentally as they close there doors towards the world and confine them. After giving the judgment when the accused pleaded for mercy Justice Fernando said that although the victims were his stepdaughter he must not have behaved inappropriate and he had abhorrently violated the stepdaughters trust.

Justice Fernando sentenced the stepfather fifteen years of imprisonment for molesting the elder stepdaughter and sixteen years for physically assaulting the younger stepdaughter and wants to take severe steps further to make the country safe for women.