Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall today sentenced 49-year-old Gavin Assanah to 33 years in prison following his conviction for the rape of a 12-year-old girl on two occasions back in 2014 and 2015.
The judge, who ordered that the convict receive counselling, said that the time served on remand would be deducted from the years.
Starting from a point of 15 years for the first offence and sixteen years for the second the judge increased both sentences by one year each as the convict had expressed no genuine remorse for the heinous acts he committed. Further, because of his age there is no reasonable prospect for his rehabilitation as would have been for a younger offender.
In arriving at the sentences the judge said she took into consideration the nature of the offence and also its prevalence. Assanah also led the child to believe that there was nothing improper with his conduct as he professed love for her. The judge pointed out as well that from all appearances he had every intention of continuing the pattern of abuse indefinitely as it was not an isolated incident and after the second act he was in secret communication with the victim.
While ordering that the accused have counselling on a quarterly basis the judge also ordered that the state continue to make interventions on behalf of the victim.
On October 3rd, following hours of deliberations, a jury returned guilty verdicts against Assanah on both counts of rape of a child under 16 years of age. On the first count, it found Assanah guilty of sexually penetrating the child between August 1st and 31st, 2014. Jurors would then go on to find that he again raped the child mere months after – on January 26th, 2015. On both counts, the panel returned a majority verdict of 11 to 1.
In light of what the judge had said was Assanah’s smiling demeanour throughout the trial, she had also ordered that he undergo psychological evaluation.
However, a report from Dr. Meena Rajkumar, a forensic psychologist, found the convict to be coherent during the evaluation and concluded that he needed no continuing psychological intervention.
In her probation report on the convict, Probation and Welfare Officer Arianna Gibson-Nurse, told the court that Assanah was well-known in the community where he lived and that residents along with his family members expressed shock at the offences for which he was convicted. She also reported that the man maintained his innocence.
She added that the victim stated that she is still pained and hurt from Assanah’s action and that she was fearful to initially disclose the acts to her mother because she felt it was her fault. She is still having difficulty focusing and is embarrassed in the community. Her mother said as well that neither Assanah nor his relatives had ever approached them to even apologise for his actions.
The probation officer pointed out that the convict infringed on the child’s rights and that traumatic experiences usually have long-term impact on a person’s life.
While Assanah told the probation officer that he was innocent, his lawyer Euclin Gomes told the court that he was remorseful and he was begging for leniency. The judge did not find that remorse to be genuine.
The trial proceedings were held in-camera at the Sexual Offences Court of the High Court in Demerara.
Apart from Persaud the state was also represented by prosecutors Ciceila Corbin and Caressa Henry.