50-year-old man jailed for serious indecent assaults [1]
Wednesday, May 10, 2023 - 00:58
A 50-year-old man was sentenced to an aggregate 30-months imprisonment sentence on three charges of serious indecent assaults of a teenager on Tongatapu.
On 5 May, Lord Chief Justice Whitten KC sentenced him at the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa.
The defendant was found guilty and convicted on all three counts, after a trial earlier this year. He was not guilty on a fourth count because the Crown offered on evidence.
The Lord Chief Justice also directed that the identity of the complainant and her evidence in the proceedings shall not be published in a written publication available to the public or be broadcasted in Tonga, pursuant to s.119 of the Criminal Offences Act.
As the Crown submitted, the only factor favouring some suspension of the defendant's sentence is his lack of previous convictions.
“He is not young, he did not honestly co-operate with the authorities, there was no identifiable diminution in culpability, he has not shown any remorse and, according to the probation officer, he poses a moderate risk of re-offending,” he said.
"The paramount sentencing considerations for crimes of serious sexual abuse are the protection of the vulnerable, deterrence, denunciation or condemnation of such behaviour and punishment of those who commit such crimes."
On count one, the defendant was sentenced to 10-months' imprisonment, 26-months for count two and 21-months on third count.
The Lord Chief Justice said to reflect the totality of the offending, four-months of the sentence for count one is to be added to the sentence for count two. The sentence for count three is to be served concurrently with the aggregate sentence of 30-months' imprisonment.
“Nevertheless, to provide deterrence and incentive for reform, the final 12-months was then suspended for two-years on conditions,” he ordered.
"Failure to comply with those conditions may result in the suspension being rescinded , in which case, the Defendant will be required to serve the balance of his sentence."