Man gets 20 years for sexually abusing adopted daughter

A MAN has been jailed for 20 years for sexually abusing his adopted daughter who he also impregnated.
And Justice Salatiel Lenalia said national court judges were handing down tougher sentences because of the prevalence of sex-related crimes.
Judge Lenalia found the man (name withheld to protect the identity of the under-aged girl), aged 48, of Wairiki No 3 village in Toma LLG in West New Britain guilty of the crime.
He said of particular concern was the increase in the cases of incest and other sex-related crimes committed among family members.
Lenalia said as was often stated, breach of trust was betrayal of the most severe kind and was “personal treason”.
He said an aggravating factor in the case was that there was a very big age difference between the victim and man.
The court heard that the girl was 15 when the matter was finally reported to the police. It is believed that she must have been around 11 or 12 when the stepfather began sexually abusing her.
The court heard the prisoner threatened the girl she would be killed if she told her mother or any other person of what he was doing to her.
Their relationship continued until the girl fell pregnant.
The court heard that on one occasion, the man’s wife fainted when, after returning from the creek, saw them having sex.
The husband admitted having sex with her daughter.
Lenalia said the mother, who did not report the matter to police immediately, did not help matters.
The court suspended two years of the sentence on the condition that the man did not break any law over two years after he completed his prison term.