HIGH COURT OF SOLOMON ISLANDS
(PALMER CJ.)

Criminal Case Number 150 of 2014

REGINA

v

Edwin Palmer

Hearing: 27th March 2015 
Sentence: 14th April 2015

Florence Joel for the Crown;
Lazarus Kwaiga for the Defendant.

1.	The defendant has been convicted of one count of rape following a trial. He loses therefore the benefit of any guilty plea.

2.	The offence of rape is regarded as a very serious offence under our Penal Code and is reflected in the maximum sentence of a life imprisonment which can be imposed. 

3.	Rape has always been regarded as a serious offence for it entails a violation of the personality and dignity of a victim. 

4.	The starting point for rape by an adult as set out in R. v. Ligiau and Dori and which has been recently endorsed by the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands in Soni v. Reginam where there is no aggravating or mitigating features in a contested case is five years. 

5.	I am satisfied that the starting point of five years for the offence of rape applies in this case. 

6.	I am satisfied too that present in the circumstances of this case are a number of aggravating features. 

7.	First, the victim is a child of 14 years at the time of commission of offence and a student while you were a married man, who at the time of commission of offence was 24 years old. The relatively young age of the victim is an aggravating feature for obvious reasons. It not only places you in a position of authority but also of trust as well with accompanying expectations of being mature, responsible and accountable. You took advantage of this age difference and abused the power and authority conferred on you to commit the offence. 

8.	The sentence to be imposed must reflect the seriousness and revulsion with which the public holds against this type of offence and the need to protect young children. 

9.	Secondly you were in a position of trust to the victim. You were like an "uncle" to her by virtue of your age and therefore should have been in a position to take care of her and to look after her while you were with her. Her parents trusted you as a close relative and so opened their house and home for you to go in and out freely. You were a frequent visitor to their home and on that day she told the court your presence at the house was never seen as threatening or negatively by her until you followed her on the road and accosted her. This type of offence by someone known to the victim and in fairly close proximity seems to be quite common and needs to be addressed seriously in the community as well by other stakeholders. 

10.	You took advantage of your position and status and used that to gain access to her at her house and what she was doing that time, followed her when she went to the store and accosted her on a lonely or quiet part of the road. You used your strength and size to overpower her to commit the offence. 

11.	On the other hand I must also balance these with the fact that this is your first time to appear in court, you are first offender and have no previous convictions. I note you are remorseful and that compensation has been paid to normalize relations between your family members. 

12.	I note you are still young and have a young family to look after and your prospects of rehabilitation are good. I give due credit for these as well. 

13.	Taking everything into account, I am satisfied a sentence of five years is to be imposed.

Orders of the Court:

1.	Impose sentence of 5 years for the rape charge to be served with immediate effect.

2.	Any period spent in custody to be taken into account.

The Court.