Fiji Stepfather

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Charge:	Child/Minor Sexual Assault
Sentence:	"1 year & Rs.2,000 fine"
Years Imprisoned:	0.2
Year Crime:
Year Convicted:	2017
Year Cleared:	2018
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Fiji
County or Region of Crime:
City of Crime:	Labasa
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"A stepfather was wrongly convicted on December 6, 2017 of sexually assaulting his five year old stepdaughter in Fiji. His prosecution was based on the testimony of his wife and his stepdaughter. The man's defense was that he was out late drinking grog and had his shower when he returned home and slept on a mattress in the sitting room with the children who sleep with him every night. His wife came into the room a little later and was angry at him for being out late. She told him "you’ll be sorry” before leaving. Twenty minutes later she returned and accused him of abusing her daughter. After his conviction by a magistrate judge following a bench trial he was sentenced on June 8, 2018 to a minimum of 12 months imprisonment. He appealed on three grounds: The magistrate did not give an explanation as to his rights in defence; he was not given the election to have his indictable offence tried in the High Court; and the Magistrate failed to take his evidence into consideration in finding him guilty. On August 22, 2018 Fiji's High Court in Labasa quashed the man's conviction. Justice Paul Madigan delivered the Court's unanimous ruling. Justice Madigan stated the Magistrate's failure to allow the accused the option to elect venue as required by law made the entire proceedings null and void. In addition Justice Madigan stated the magistrate analysed the evidence of all the prosecution witnesses in her written judgment, but she failed to state that she had taken the defendant's evidence into account in her deliberations. Madigan stated: "“An accused has a right for his evidence to be taken into account. To know that the tribunal has considered it and given it the weight it deserves. A very busy Magistrate need do no more, but to say that he or she has considered the evidence of the accused, but rejected it. Every accused who gives evidence deserves to know that the Court has turned its mind to what he or she says." Consequently, the defendant's conviction must be quashed and the sentence set aside."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On August 22, 2018 Fiji's High Court in Labasa quashed the man's conviction. Justice Paul Madigan delivered the Court's unanimous ruling. Justice Madigan stated the Magistrate's failure to allow the accused the option to elect venue as required by law made the entire proceedings null and void. In addition Justice Madigan stated the magistrate analysed the evidence of all the prosecution witnesses in her written judgment, but she failed to state that she had taken the defendant's evidence into account in her deliberations. Madigan stated: "“An accused has a right for his evidence to be taken into account. To know that the tribunal has considered it and given it the weight it deserves. A very busy Magistrate need do no more, but to say that he or she has considered the evidence of the accused, but rejected it. Every accused who gives evidence deserves to know that the Court has turned its mind to what he or she says." Consequently, the defendant's conviction must be quashed and the sentence set aside."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"High Court Sets Aside Jail Sentence, Quashes Accused Conviction, By Fonua Talei, Fiji Sun, August 23, 2018"
Information Location 1:	http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/08/23/high-court-sets-aside-jail-sentence-quashes-accused-conviction/
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Fiji Stepfather

Charge:

Child/Minor Sexual Assault

Sentence:

"1 year & Rs.2,000 fine"

Years Imprisoned:

0.2

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

2017

Year Cleared:

2018

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Fiji

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Labasa

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"High Court Sets Aside Jail Sentence, Quashes Accused Conviction, By Fonua Talei, Fiji Sun, August 23, 2018"

Information Location 1:

http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/08/23/high-court-sets-aside-jail-sentence-quashes-accused-conviction/

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Book About Case (2):

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