A man who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sodomy will now serve 20 years after the Court of Appeal yesterday reduced his sentence by five years.
Paul Abrams, who was found guilty of buggery in 2016 of a 17-year-old girl, yesterday had his sentence of 25 years reduced to 20 years by the Guyana Court of Appeal. The court, however, did not touch the 4 years’ sentence he received for indecent assault.
Abrams, a former Barama Company Limited Supervisor was represented by attorneys Nigel Hughes and Ronald J. Daniels who argued in Abrams’ appeal that the trial judge, Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, misdirected the jury on the law of buggery and indecent assault and that his sentencing was excessive. According to Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonette Cummings-Edwards, the decision to reduce the appellant’s years of sentence for the buggery charge was due to insufficient evidence provided by the doctor.
Chancellor [Ag] Cummings-Edwards said that the doctor’s report, which was provided by the prosecution, noted that the virtual complainant indeed had injuries to her rectum but he could not prove how or what caused those injuries. She added that Abrams was initially charged with rape and was found not guilty due to evidence presented that the sexual intercourse was consensual but the rectal intercourse was not. As such, the Court of Appeal ruled that five years be deducted from the buggery sentence but that the 4 years remain on the indecent assault.
Abrams and two other employees, Claude Craig and Holston Melville called ‘Pumpkin,’ had been charged with raping and sodomizing the teen on December 5th, 2007 at Barama’s Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara plywood plant. It was reported that the men took turns at raping and sodomizing the girl. Abrams was found not guilty of rape but guilty of buggery and indecent assault and was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment on the buggery charge and 4 years for the indecent assault; with the order that the sentences run concurrently.
According to the prosecution, it was said that Abrams had lured the girl into to a room where he proceeded to rape and sodomize her. He reportedly then locked the girl in the room and later returned in the company of two male employees who also proceeded to rape and sodomize the girl. The prosecution further added that after some time, Abrams and Melville left the room, locking the girl inside but Craig reportedly returned and reentered the room where he once again sodomized the girl.
The charge of rape against Craig was withdrawn, but he was nevertheless convicted and sentenced to 4 years for indecent assault while Melville was found not guilty of the charges. The state was represented by Attorney Lisa Cave.
