Immigrant, 30, who sexually assaulted his nine-year-old sister-in-law will be deported
A Fijian man who sexually assaulted his wife’s nine-year-old sister and used a hidden camera to spy on a female colleague in the bathroom will be deported.
The 30-year-old man, who is a permanent resident of New Zealand and has Fijian citizenship, first began sexually abusing his minor victim in 2015.
He has pleaded guilty to one charge of indecent assault and attempted rape, two charges of indecent acts and five charges of unlawful sexual intercourse.
The man moved to New Zealand when he was 15 years old and moved into his wife’s family home after they met in high school and married in 2012.
He abused his sister-in-law over a period of four and a half years, and the abuse continued even after the couple moved away – with the young girl staying at their home on weekends and school holidays. Stuff reported.
A Fijian man who sexually assaulted his wife’s nine-year-old sister and used a hidden camera to spy on a female colleague in the bathroom will be deported (stock image)
In 2019, the then 14-year-old girl opened up to a friend about the abuse, who spoke to her mother, who then told the victim’s mother-in-law.
While the abuse was taking place, the man stole $2,000 worth of goods from his workplace, and at another job he placed a hidden camera in the ladies’ room.
The tribunal noted that videos of women in the toilet were of a “sexual nature” and that his abuse of his sister-in-law was “premeditated and required planning.”
The man was convicted of both charges in 2018 and received four months of community service and 60 hours of community service.
The New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal heard the man’s wife, a New Zealand citizen, has forgiven her husband and has no plans to divorce him.
In an application to have his deportation overturned, the man claimed that having a daughter had made him “realize the responsibilities he has as a father and husband.”
He also stated that he was also a victim of sexual abuse as a child.
The 30-year-old man, who is a permanent resident of New Zealand and has Fijian citizenship, first began sexually abusing his minor victim in 2015 (stock image)
The tribunal noted that his victim was able to forgive the man after he completed a restorative justice programme.
He claimed that if he was deported to Fiji he would have to return to his village where his alleged abusers were ‘roaming freely’.
However, the tribunal ruled that the man did not have to live in the village and could ‘otherwise seek work and shelter’.
In his appeal, the man said he wanted to stay in New Zealand to support his wife and daughter and that he “wished he could turn back time.”
His application was rejected, with the tribunal stating that although his deportation would be ‘harsh’ for his family, it would not be unjust.