A 29-year-old man from a village in Savaii was jailed for two years and four months on Wednesday for having sexual connections with his niece that only came to light when the victim became pregnant.

Delivering his sentencing, Supreme Court Judge Justice Leiataualesa Darryl Clarke made it clear to the defendant that what he did breached the trust given by the victim's father to him for protecting his children, especially his daughters.

The defendant according to the summary of facts is the first cousin of the victim's father. He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual connection with a young person under 16, last month.

For the first offence, between 1 June and 31 July 2022 at a village in Savaii, the victim's mother attended a village meeting whilst her father was working and at that time the victim was alone sleeping in her room.

That's when the defendant entered the victim's room and committed the offence.

The second incident happened between 1 June and 31 July 2022 on a Sunday evening at around 11 pm when the victim walked out of their main house to use the toilet outside.

It was stated that the defendant had sexual intercourse with the victim in the toilet after telling her not to make noise.

The victim's mother went looking for the victim and as soon as the defendant heard the victim's mother calling for her, he quickly ran off.

As a result of this offence, the victim became pregnant, and the matter was reported to the police and the defendant was apprehended and cautioned accordingly.

On 27 August 2024, on the day of the hearing, the defendant through his counsel, Afoa Fetu Lagaaia, vacated his not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to the charges.

Judge Justice Leiataualesa told the defendant that there was no doubt that the court would give him an imprisonment sentence because of the seriousness of his offending and especially the close relationship he had with the victim.

The court made a starting point of four years imprisonment. Justice Leiataualesa deducted nine months for his good character and for being a first offender. 

Another six months were deducted for his attempt to have a reconciliation with the victim's father and another five months for pleading guilty to the charges against him.

This leaves two years and four months for the defendant to spend in jail for his offending.

Representing the defendant was Fetu Lagaaia while Fuifui Ioane was the assigned prosecutor.