Teens plead guilty to brutal rape of 53-year-old Tongatapu woman

Two teenage boys have pleaded guilty to repeated raping of a 53-year-old mother before allegedly fleeing with food from her kitchen fridge.

Henelī Valele, 18, and Tīmote Kaufusi, 17, have been ordered to reappear in court on February 8 for sentencing.

The sexual assault had been described by local newspapers as brutal and vicious.

A local paper said in its report this week it has decided not to publish the details of the brutality for what it has described as breaching of the Tongan cultural taboo of faka’apa’apa.

The accused men had been charged with indecent assault and burglary.

As Kaniva news reported last year, the court was told the duo had been drinking before they went looking for more alcohol.

They allegedly broke into a retail shop before they escaped with goods.

They then stalked the shop’s next door neighbour which was the victim’s residence before raping her.

The victim, whose name was reportedly suppressed by court, was home alone when the incident occurred.

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