A man who raped his step daughter and indecently assaulted her over a period of time has been sentenced to 16 years imprisonment by the Suva High court this afternoon.

High Court Judge Justice Priyantha Fernando had earlier concurred with the unanimous decision of the three assessors who found the man guilty of four counts of rape and one count of indecent assault.

The man raped his ten year old step daughter on numerous occasions from 2008 to August 2009.

While handing down the sentence Justice Fernando stressed that what the man did was a gross breach of trust and that the child was raped over a period of time which had scarred her for life.

He stated that the offence of rape has become more frequent and the sentence should be a deterrent to other sexual offenders.