Unanimously convicted and now awaiting sentencing, Ronald Armstrong on Thursday heard from the impact statement of the woman he raped at gun-point the struggle she has endured to move forward with her life.
Almost a decade later, “it feels as if no time has passed at all,” the court heard from the woman’s statement, which was read on her behalf by state counsel Caressa Henry, at the pre-sentencing hearing.
According to the statement, the woman had for years blamed herself, instead of attributing it to Armstrong.
“For years I was angry at myself. I blamed myself. I questioned everything I did and didn’t do, every action, every thought, every gesture, every word spoken and unspoken…[but] I never blamed the person responsible and who deserves to be blamed. That person is you. I finally allowed myself to be angry with you,” the statement read.
“When you raped me, you didn’t just violate me, you broke my will, you stole something from me, you forced your depravity on me, you laughed in my face when I told you to stop, that you were hurting me when I tried to push you away. You shushed me when I screamed out…You were so calm as if you were doing nothing wrong,” the court heard of the woman further relating.
The victim then went on to relate being gagged by her rapist, and watching the gun being pointed at her then-infant daughter, whom she said the convict had to have known she would have protected with her life.
“I was gone. I felt like I died that night. A piece of me did die that night,” the statement said.
The woman according to the statement said that for years she denied feelings about what Armstrong did to her, “because I thought doing so would be admitting I was weak enough to be a victim.”
“I realize now you are the weak one,” the woman asserted in her statement.
“You were the one so driven by your twisted desire that you forcefully took something from me. My dignity. You were the one who physically and sexually assaulted someone of smaller stature because you knew you could overpower me…you knew I was alone and vulnerable. So you took advantage of it.”
“That was inhumane, cruel and criminal minded…That is how I would describe you. [As] a weak-minded, weak-willed, deranged, sadistic monster, a pitiful excuse for a human being,” the woman’s statement read, to which Armstrong shook his head in apparent disagreement.
As broken as she said the assault has left her, however, the victim said she is now focused on rebuilding her life.
“I am leaving you with the last words of this letter and I am never looking back. I want to start rebuilding what you have broken in me and move on with my life.”
“But before I do that, I have one more thing to say. I have read stories of victims of rape who thank their perpetrator for violating them, because it helped them to become stronger. While that may be healing for them, it’s not the case for me. I am not, nor will I ever, be thankful for what you did to me. The only thing I am thankful for is that my baby girl has no memory of that dreadful night.”
“I am disgusted by the despicable acts you committed against me. I am disgusted at the memories you left me with. I am scarred for life, in more ways than one by what you did. I still have those days where I sink back into feeling broken.”
“You may have wounded my body, but not my spirit. I am alive. I am determined. And I will empower myself,” the woman concluded her statement by saying.
According to a report, presented to the court by Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Meenawattie Rajkumar, “no signs of perceptual disturbances suggestive of psychosis” were detected in her evaluation of the convict.
“As personality traits,” however, the doctor said, “manipulation stands out.” She added that he showed no sign of remorse for his actions and felt regret only for his incarceration.
When given a chance to speak, Armstrong in a soft tone continued professing his innocence and asked the judge for a “small sentence suh I could guh back in society.”
For his part, his attorney, Everton Singh-Lammy, presented his client as a model prisoner whom he said at 34 years old is still relatively young.
Against this background he echoed the convict’s sentiments of being given an opportunity for reintegration to society, while adding that Armstrong is a victim of child labour and parental neglect.
Utter disregard
However, in an impassioned plea for the convict to be dealt with condignly by the Court and made to serve a sentence that would send a strong message of deterrence to potential offenders, Prosecutor Henry begged the judge to consider that Armstrong had violated the sanctity of the victim’s home.
“That is the place we are supposed to feel safe,” Henry said, but stressed that it was with utter disregard that the convict broke in and violated the woman in the worst possible way, even as her infant daughter and smaller sister lay asleep in a room just close by.
Those actions, Henry said, were indicative of the convict’s depravity.
She also asked the Court to consider that Armstrong who is currently serving a four-year sentence on armed robbery charges in an unrelated matter, had raped the victim while on bail for those offences.
Following the presentation of the various social reports and submissions on Thursday, Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry announced that she would sentence the convict on July 7.
Just about a month ago, a 12-member jury unanimously found Armstrong, called ‘Sargie,’ guilty of sexually penetrating the then 20-year-old woman, after breaking into her home where he accosted her at gun-point in her bathroom on January 22, 2013;
The panel also found him guilty of using the gun to rob the woman of a quantity of gold jewellery, two laptop computers and two television sets.
Among the gold jewellery stolen as stated in the armed robbery charge were seven gold rings, four gold chains, four bangles, two bands, one pair of earrings and a watch.
The State’s case was that on the day in question the virtual complainant was at home with her baby, and sister, who were sleeping, while she was in the bathroom preparing to get laundry done.
The court heard during the trial that it was at that time that the young woman felt a cold object on her neck and upon turning around came face-to-face with the accused who was armed with a gun and in the company of two other men.
The court had heard that Armstrong began demanding gold from the woman, while threatening to injure her baby if she did not comply.
The court would further hear that the woman handed over several pieces of gold jewellery, which she was wearing at the time, along with some which were stored in a cabinet.
Notwithstanding his demands being met, however, the court would then hear that Armstrong led the complainant into her bedroom where he ordered her to lie on her bed before raping her.
Armstrong and the two men then escaped with the gold jewellery, the television sets and laptop computers from the home.
Armstrong, however, maintained that he did not commit the offences.
The trial proceedings were held in-camera at the Sexual Offences Court of the High Court in Demerara.
