12 Dec 2002

Wallis King's grandson jailed for rape

5:06 pm on 12 December 2002

Reports from the French territory of Wallis say one of the king's grandsons has been jailed for seven years for rape.

New Caledonia's daily newspaper says to protect the identity of the victim, the names of those involved in the crime will not be released.

The paper says the king's grandson and a friend of his repeatedly raped the young girl before Easter last year.

It says she was later also beaten by her parents for refusing to tell them where she had been on the day of the rape.

After initially claiming that the girl had followed them, the two rapists then denied knowing who she was.

The defence claimed that the king's grandson had been ill and suffered from epilepsy.