Cop jailed 12yrs for rape

By ZEDAIAH KANAU
A 46-year-old police constable was jailed 12 years with hard labour by the National Court in Waigani for repeatedly raping an eight-year-old girl since she was five in Port Moresby.
Justice George Manuhu told John Mugi, now an ex-PC that he had dishonoured the oath he took to serve his country.
“A PC, like judges, magistrates, lawyers, we took our oath to serve the country and to uphold the laws and Constitution of Papua New Guinea,” he said.
“When we commit an offence, it (the law) will fall very hard on us.
“There was a magistrate who accepted a bribe of K200, he jailed five years.
“That is how serious our oath of office is and how serious when we commit an offence.
“All your good work and efforts you have put into serving the State come tumbling down when you commit an offence.
“The victim is a very young girl and they (girls) should be protected by every adult, let alone a policeman.
“You can recall what you did and I am sure you will realise that what you did is a bad mistake.
“In the record of interview, you made reference to a certain internet website where you had access to pornographic materials.
“That is what it does.
“When a person accesses pornographic material, it affects his mind and before you know it, it is too late.”
Justice Manuhu said an appropriate sentence should be between 10 and 15 years.
Justice Manuhu deducted three months and 24 days that Mugi had spent in custody, leaving him with 11 years and eight months and six days to serve in Bomana Prison.
Mugi’s bail was refunded.
Mugi had dedicated 26 years of service to the police force.
The victim is the daughter of another policeman who considered Mugi’s family as a family friend.
Mugi and the girl’s family are neighbours at a police barrack in Port Moresby.
Mugi started raping the girl on Sept 20, 2018, when the girl was five years old.
The girl told her mother and aunt who did not believe her because Mugi was a close family friend.
She again reported to her parents when Mugi repeated his sexual attacks. But her parents thought she was making up the story.
On Sept 23, 2019, while her mother was drying her after her bath, the girl screamed in pain when she tried to dry her buttocks.
She told her mother Mugi had touched her again.