Fiji test lock Api Ratuniyarawa has been jailed for two years and 10 months in Wales for sexual assaults on three women on drunken visits to a Cardiff bar.
Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke ordered Ratuniyarawa, who assaulted three separate women, to serve up to half his sentence in jail with the remainder to be served in the community.
According to a Wales Online story, he admitted to two charges of penetration and one act of sexual assault, and as a result, he will be classified as a sexual offender for the next ten years.
On November 4, Ratuniyarawa, who played in the last three Rugby World Cups and earned 37 caps for Fiji, was in Cardiff to represent the Barbarians against Wales.
The father of four, who most recently played for the London Irish in the English Premier League, was shown by Cardiff’s Crown Court to have gone out three nights prior to the game to socialize with teammates.
Ratuniyarawa, who is 1.98 meters tall and weighs 115 kg, “cornered” his first victim and “put his hands down her trousers,” according to prosecutor Heath Edwards, according to the BBC.
On the second occasion he touched another woman’s breast and bottom and the third woman suffered a painful assault that left her bleeding.
The three ladies said in court that they attempted to fend off Ratuniyarawa, who only ceased his attacks after other patrons of the bar stepped in.
After reading a victim impact report, one woman claimed to have felt embarrassed, nervous, and stressed following Ratuniyarawa’s attack.
“ “This is the worst imaginable thing he could have done to me,” she declared.
“He’s ruined my life by what he’s done.”
According to Ruth Smith, Ratuniyarawa’s defense attorney, he wished to apologize to his victims and acknowledged that “his legacy is forever tarnished.”
Sentencing Ratuniyarawa, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said: “All the offences are aggravated because you were under the influence of alcohol, and I bear in mind physical injury was caused as well as the psychological injury that was caused on all three occasions.
“For all three offences I note you stopped only because others intervened.”
Ratuniyarawa had been without a club since London Irish went bankrupt, and he had been hoping that the Barbarians game would get him a deal with a new team.
However, the court was informed that his offense had essentially ended his career.
Ratuniyarawa did not play in France despite being selected as an injury replacement for Fiji in the 2023 Rugby World Cup roster.
In 2012, he started working for North Harbour as a professional and made his test debut.
Later, he played for the London Irish and Northampton Saints in England, as well as Agen in France.
In May of last year, Ratuniyarawa participated for the World XV in a loss against the Barbarians at Twickenham.
