Man convicted of rape [1]
Thursday, July 16, 2020 - 19:54
A man was found guilty at the Supreme Court on two counts of rape committed on a young girl in Tongatapu.
Lord Chief Justice Whitten in his verdict on July 15 convicted the accused on both charges committed in 2019.
He will be sentenced on August 14.
The accused who pleaded not guilty was on trial this year.
The Chief Justice found the complainant as an honest and credible witness.
By contrast, he had grave misgivings about the veracity of the accused's evidence. “He was an unimpressive witness almost from the outset, whose demeanour throughout the trial was guarded,” he said.
From the reasons stated, the Chief Justice was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed these serious offences.
He also ordered that the identity of the complainant and her evidence in the proceedings not to be published.