Linton Pompey, the father of 12 who was convicted for the rape and sexual assault of an underage girl, yesterday lost his challenge to his convictions and the 37 years to which he was sentenced.
Pompey was convicted in 2015 for sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 on January 10th, 2012 and between June 1st and June 30th, 2013, as well as for engaging in sexual activity with the minor between May 1st and May 31st, 2011.
Pompey, now 53, was sentenced to 15 years and 17 years imprisonment on the first and second counts of rape, respectively. He was also sentenced to five years on the charge of sexual activity with the minor.
Following the conviction, he had moved to appeal his conviction and sentence, which he argued was harsh, while advancing that his trial had been unfair.
However, the appeal hearing ended yesterday with the Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire ruling that the convictions could be supported by the evidence of the prosecution.
She further noted that the summation of the evidence done by trial judge, Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, did not jeopardise the case in any way as had been contended by Pompey’s attorney, Nigel Hughes, who claimed that the judge had failed to sufficiently put his client’s defence to the jury.
Hughes had also argued that the consecutive sentences that had been imposed on Pompey were excessive and were only warranted when there was evidence of extreme violence. However, the Chief Justice disagreed, while noting that the sentences given by the trial judge were appropriate considering that the offences had occurred on different occasions.
A similar point had been made by Prosecutor Natasha Backer, who argued that the sentences were not excessive given the nature of the offence.
She also cited a case from the Caribbean Court of Justice, which reasoned that consecutive sentences may be given if the offences occurred in unrelated acts, as in this case where Pompey had committed the acts on the girl on different days. Notwithstanding the decision by the court to uphold the conviction, Hughes indicated his intention to challenge the decision at the Caribbean Court of Justice.
