Man accused of sexually abusing his daughters appears in court

THE Goroka Committal Court yesterday adjourned a sexual penetration case against a 32-year-old man involving his two daughters.
The matter was rescheduled to a later date after the police prosecutor was unable to take carriage of the case immediately as he was unavailable for personal reasons.
On Nov 2 last year, Goroka police arrested the man from Okapa in Eastern Highlands for allegedly smolesting his two daughters who were under the age of 12.
The offence continued for 19 months, from Jan 2019 to Sept 2020.
Police charged the accused in contravention of Section 299A (2) of the Criminal Code of Sexual Offences and Crime Against Children Act 2002.
According to information before the court, the accused and his family were at their village near Goroka when the offences were committed.
Police alleged that the accused had been using threats to sexually assault the victims who were aged 10 and six when the incidents first occurred.
Police information confirmed that the accused had threatened the children’s mother and removed her from his home.
The father also threatened to kill the victims if they reported it to anyone.
The accused then married a second wife but she left him.
The accused then married a third wife, who caught him in the act of sexually assaulting his seven-year-old daughter.
The third wife took the two daughters to a clinic in North Goroka where the girls were examined and it was confirmed that they had been abused.
The third wife then reported the matter to Goroka police who arrested the father.
He was detained at the Goroka Police Station and appeared before the Goroka Committal Court.