The High Court in Lautoka has sentenced a man to nine years in prison with a non-parole period of seven years after he was found guilty of raping a woman following a drinking party in Nadi in 2023.

Delivering the sentence, Justice Aruna Aluthge said the case highlighted a “deep breach of trust” and “brutal violence” against a vulnerable victim.

“This was a degrading and humiliating assault committed on a young woman who trusted you,” Justice Aluthge stated in his August 29 ruling.

“You assaulted her not only sexually but also physically, and you made her run along a public road fully naked.”

The offence occurred on September 3, 2023, after the accused and the victim had attended a drinking party at Wailoaloa Beach.

The court heard that the man forced the woman into his car, drove her to a secluded area opposite Nalagi Hotel, and raped her twice after threatening her with a knife.

“The victim cried and resisted,” the judge noted.

The woman later escaped and ran naked onto the main road where she was rescued by a hotel security guard and two women who helped take her to the police.

“The courts must mark society’s outrage and denounce sexual abuse. Protection of the community is equally important.”