Jaipaul Hitlall, who was found guilty by a majority verdict of raping a woman while using violence and threats, was yesterday sentenced to 20 years in prison by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall.
A jury found Hitlall, called ‘Latta,’ guilty by a ratio of ten to two.
He was charged with committing the act of rape on December 29th, 2016.
In handing down her sentence, Justice Morris-Ramlall said she considered the nature of the offence and the manner in which it was committed. She also considered the lack of remorse on the part of the convict and the impact the offence had on the victim.
She noted that the case involved Hitlall preying on the victim in the dark and using violence and threats as he committed the act twice.
In addition to the sentence, the judge also ordered that the man undergo quarterly counselling and be exposed to literacy programmes conducted and facilitated by the prison during his time in jail.
In her impact statement, the victim that said her life has not been the same since the violent act. “I feel to kill myself and my kids too because I don’t want people to laugh at them about me,” she said.
She also said she felt like she did not want to live anymore because she was ashamed even to tell her family what had happened to her and she also believed that her partner was ashamed too because of what happened.
“Every day in my life it hurts me to know what happened to my life. I need justice I work hard in my life to mind my kids them. I risk my life to go work shift work, not knowing people waiting to hurt me. I pray to God for help in my life because he is my witness,” the victim wrote.
