A MAN has been jailed for 15 years for rape by the National Court in Kokopo, East New Britain, PNG.
Justice Salatiel Lenalia said the offence of rape was very serious and the penalty imposed must reflect the serious view taken by Parliament when it amended the law on sexual offences in the Criminal Code.
The man, 44, from Gazelle district, East New Britain, was convicted of raping his pregnant step-daughter. (The National has suppressed his name to protect the identity of the victim.)
Lenalia suspended four years of the jail term. The man will serve 11 years at the Kerevat Prison.
The court heard that the incident happened on the night of January 18 last year. The woman, 26, was pregnant from another man at the time.
The woman’s mother was away in New Ireland when the incident happened.
The man was ordered to pay K400 to the woman and her relatives on top of the 60 fathoms of shell money he had paid earlier.