A Navua man who has been found guilty of four counts of defilement wants a lenient sentence from the courts.

The 24 year old married man who defiled a 16 year old girl appeared before Magistrate Mesake Wakanivonoloa today, and in mitigation asked the court to forgive him as he did not know the girl's actual age.

His lawyer Chaitanya Lakshman told the magistrate that his client has a nine month old baby and asked for a suspended sentence.

The girl revealed in Court during the trial that she was raped for the first time by the accused on 27th December 2007.

It was also revealed in Court the man is related to the girl.

The girl was defiled when she was between thirteen and sixteen years of age on four occasions.