Thirty-two-year-old father of four, Ray Williams, was yesterday afternoon sentenced to 15 years behind bars for raping a 12-year-old girl on three occasions over a seven-month period last year.
He had pleaded guilty to all three counts of the offence of rape of a child under 16 years, when they were read to him at his arraignment some weeks back.
At his sentencing hearing yesterday afternoon, Justice Sandil Kissoon underscored the lack of remorse on the part of the offender, to whose scheming he said the young child was vulnerable.
The Judge then went on the lament the violence and force to which the child had been subjected at the hands of her rapist; the gravity of which he said was not only gruesome, but abhorrent.
Justice Kissoon then decried the rising incidence of sexual offences in Guyana which he says has gone unchecked.
Against this background he emphasized the need for the involvement of all stakeholders which he noted cannot only be limited to the police and criminal justice system, in addressing the issue with the urgency he said is warranted.
In an impact statement, the tearful mother of the now 13-year-old child said that her daughter has not been the same since the assault which she said has caused the teen shame, owing to the manner in which she is often mocked by her peers and the community.
After considering all the circumstances of the case, both aggravating and mitigating—Justice Kissoon imposed a sentence of 12 years on the first count; 13 years, three months on the second count; and 15 years, three months on the third count.
Explaining the disparity in the sentences imposed for each count, the Judge underscored the repeat nature of the offences up to the third count which he noted illustrated that Williams had become emboldened.
The Judge ordered that the sentences be served concurrently and that the offender be exposed to counselling tailored for child sex offenders.
He also ordered that the child continues receiving psycho-social support from her counsellors.
Williams was represented by defence attorney Teriq Mohammed, while the State’s case was presented by Prosecutor Cicelia Corbin.
The matter was heard at the Sexual Offences Court of the High Court in Demerara.
