A young man was yesterday morning sentenced by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow to three years and three months behind bars after taking responsibility for the crime of raping his 10-year-old cousin when he was 13 years old.
The now 18-year-old man, whose identity has to be withheld from publication in accordance with the law, had pleaded guilty when he appeared before the Sexual Offences Court earlier this month. His sentencing had, however, been deferred for a probation report.
He pleaded to charges of rape of a child under 16 years and accepting that back in August of 2015 he sexually assaulted the child on two separate occasions.
Both a probation report and victim impact statements were laid over to the court and tendered in the sentence hearing, but were not read out in court.
Referencing the probation report, Justice Barlow sought to ascertain from the young offender why even after pleading to the offences on his own volition he had told the Probation and Social Services Officer that he did not commit the acts.
In a soft tone, the teen responded, “I don’t know why I told her I did not do it.”
When asked by the judge, he confirmed that at the time he entered his guilty pleas, he understood what he was doing and that no one had forced him to so do. He also said that he did assault his cousin.
On the basis of his answers, Justice Barlow said that she would not set aside the pleas as she was satisfied that the offender knew the implications of his actions and understood what he was doing when he pleaded guilty.
He had been brought before the court late last year and had initially pleaded guilty to the charges, but later said he was forced to do so.
Following his responses when questioned yesterday, however, the judge said she could not allow the offender “to play the court a second time,” while noting that she would be proceeding with sentencing.
When given a chance to speak, the young man said that he was sorry for what he had done to the child, while asking for forgiveness and mercy. “I caused her lots of pain,” he said.
The judge then asked him how he knew that he had caused the virtual complainant a lot of pain, to which he responded, “I don’t know. Her mother said that she was traumatized.”
In handing down the sentence, Justice Barlow said that she found no real remorse as the offender still did not accept that it was because of his actions that the child had been hurt and still feels traumatized.
With him having been charged as a juvenile, Justice Barlow explained, the young man could only have been sentenced to a maximum of five years.
On the first count, she imposed a sentence of three years and the same for the second, but added an additional six months because she found as an aggravating factor, his repeat of the assault.
She said he could not benefit from the one-third reduction from his sentence for an early plea, since he did not give it at the earliest opportunity. In the circumstances, the judge instead only deducted three months.
The sentences will run concurrently.
In addition, the court has ordered that the young offender be counselled while in prison as part of its programme for such offenders.
Meanwhile, after his release, the judge said, he is to report to the Probation Department, where he must undergo further counselling for a period of two years and constant evaluation by officials there.
He was also ordered to attend skills training sessions, and the judge has made it clear that failure to participate in these post-release programmes would see him being sent back to prison for an additional year.
The state’s case was presented by Prosecutor Teriq Mohammed, while the teen was represented by attorney Maxwell McKay, who begged the court to consider his youthfulness when the offences were committed.
In accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act 2018, the identity of an individual who would have committed an offence while a minor ought not to be published since the person, although now an adult, was a juvenile at the time the offence was committed.
