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	Father Faces Incest Charge By Serafina Silaitoga and Harold Koi Fiji Times April 9, 2008 http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=85917 A MAN has been charged with raping his 15-year-old daughter over the past three years. The 57-year-old man faces 20 counts of abuse and raping his daughter on separate occasions in their family home on Ovalau. Police prosecutor Inspector Subhan Ali said the accused appeared before Magistrate Vani Ravono at the Levuka court last week and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Insp. Ali said the girl was put in the care of the Social Welfare after the alleged incident. He said she was being kept at a location which has not been disclosed to the police or the court. He said the allegations were that the girl was raped on numerous occasions between April 2003 and May 2006. Insp. Ali said police were not alerted of the alleged offence until 2006 because the victim claimed she feared her father. He said the accused allegedly took advantage of her when the girl's mother went out to drink kava at the neighbour's place. Insp. Ali said the accused had been granted bail to appear in court again on May 1. He said Ms Ravono ordered him to report once a week to the police station and not to interfere with prosecution witnesses. Meanwhile, a pastor accused of incest against his daughter in the Northern Division has been suspended from church duties. The divisional head of the Assemblies of God Church, Pastor Manasa Rasalato, said they have laid-off duty the pastor accused of incest. "He has been suspended and depending on the results of the investigation, a decision will then be made on his pastoral duties," Mr Rasalato said. "The police has also been in touch with the office and they had told us about their investigations." Divisional Crime Officer northern Luke Rawalai said the accused has not been questioned as investigations are at the preliminary stages. However, he said the accused would be questioned once police gather evidence on the allegation. The AOG pastor in Dreketi, Macuata is believed to have had sex with his daughter between December 2006 to early 2007. Mr Rawalai said the daughter, who did not consent to the act by her father, was threatened not to tell anyone. The matter came to light when the victim shared the experience of what happened in 2006 at a church camp in Nadi last month to a staff at the camp. It is understood the victim shared it during a reconciliation time at the camp and that is how it was reported at the Nadi Police Station which was referred to police in the North police. The allegation is believed to have happened in the family's farm house which sits in the church compound at Dreketi Village.
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