Rapist jailed for 29 years

by JAYNE SAFIHAO
JOEL Otariv sat with his head bowed as he was jailed for 29 years for two counts of rape.
He had last month been sentenced to life for murder.
Otariv, who had undergone psychiatric help to determine whether he was mentally fit to stand trial, broke into a grin a few minutes after being told of his sentence.
The court was told that Otariv was given a life sentence last month for a wilful murder case that was committed in his Sirin village in Bogia on March 17, 2008.
A known drug user, Otariv was said to have gone to a small creek where a woman was taking a bath. He used force to rape the woman and later drowned her in the river.
The court was told that on Jan 22, 2010, he raped his biological mother twice in the family food garden.
The court was told that Otariv
followed his 60-year-old mother to
the garden and asked her for a bushknife.
With the bush knife, he turned around and assaulted his mother, forcefully stripping and sexually assaulting her.
The mother cried for help and tried to get away. She ran for a short distance before he caught up with her and again raped her.
Last week when asked by Justice Cannings if he had anything to say, he said “nothing”.
Cannings sentenced him to 20 years for the first count and 25 for the
second but was reduced to 30 years with one year deducted for time in custody.
He will instead serve 29 years concurrent to the life sentence.
The court was told that his mother had fled from the village and gone into hiding