For what the State described as “gruesome” treatment unleashed on his victim/survivor, Corentyne resident Broan Luke has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for raping a woman at knife-point after breaking into her house.
At his sentencing-hearing yesterday, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall remarked that Luke had violated the woman in the “most perverse” of ways, with scant regard for her two-year-old granddaughter who was present.
Earlier this month, Luke threw himself at the mercy of the Court, pleading guilty to charges of rape, assault, robbery and burglary.
In his brief address to the court yesterday morning, the offender said “I apologize to the woman and the community for not knowing what I have done.”
From his probation report, the court heard of the offender saying that he was intoxicated at the time, and was unaware of his actions.
But Justice Morris-Ramlall was keen on making it clear in her sentencing remarks that this was to be used as no excuse by Luke, as his intoxication she said, had been wilfully, self-induced.
His lawyer Surihya Sabsook had begged the Court for leniency, stating that her client was sorry for his actions, and had accepted responsibility, pleading guilty to all the charges against him.
In calling for the maximum penalty of life imprisonment, Prosecutor Muntaz Ali asked the Judge to consider what he said was the “brutal, gruesome, inhumane and degrading treatment” meted out to the survivor.
He lamented the disregard for women, and moral values and principles which he said has left the complainant terrorized owing to the offender’s lack of restraint in sexually assaulting her twice that night in the presence of her granddaughter.
Noting the “reprehensible” nature of the act, Ali also underscored its prevalence in society, with what he said was an attendant increase in it bearing a more violent nature.
“Rape is considered a blight in society which has been demonstrated by strong protest actions against recent allegations made against a Minister of Government. Where the offence is prevalent, the overriding consideration should be deterrence of both potential offenders and the particular offender,” Ali said.
Ali appeared to be referring to Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharamlall who is currently the subject of rape and sexual-grooming allegations.
In listing the aggravating circumstances of the case, Ali asked the Judge to consider the use of a knife in the commission of the offence, the threats made to the complainant’s life and the sheer violence which he said she was made to endure.
Against this background he highlighted the bruises the woman suffered about her body; but more importantly, the psychological trauma which he said she continues to suffer as was evident from her victim impact statement.
In that statement which was read to the court by Ali, the woman spoke of the assault leaving her “shattered,” describing her rapist as a “vile criminal,” whose actions she said were “animalistic, barbaric, brutal and sadistic.”
She recalled the terror with which she was gripped during the ordeal which lasted for an hour, and the fear no less which she said she still feels for her life; but said she was thankful that her grandbaby has no recollection of the dreadful events of that night.
The woman described her flashbacks and nightmares as a haunting presence of her attacker’s “evil face,” which she said she sees every time she closes her eyes; noting that not only has she never slept in her own bed since, but not even in her home.
“My life, my very existence is a struggle for survival,” the court heard from the statement, in which the woman said she keeps hearing his threats in her head; even as she continues to feel “battered, bruised, physically and emotionally violated.”
The woman then sounded her call for the maximum penalty to be imposed against her rapist, stating that a “clear and strong” message needed to be sent to him and other like-minded potential offenders, so that other women are not made to suffer the same fate as she did.
A psychiatric report presented to the court by Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Meenawattie Rajkumar, said that Luke exhibited no signs or symptoms that qualitatively affect his psychological organization
The doctor said that in fact, no signs of perceptual disturbances suggestive of psychosis were found, nor of any other mental illness; noting only that he admitted to alcohol abuse.
Having considered all the circumstances of the case, Justice Morris-Ramlall sentenced Luke to 20 years imprisonment for raping the woman, 10 years for burgling her house, six years for physically assaulting her and 12 years for armed robbery.
The Judge noted that she had to also consider, though unrelated, the previous conviction of abduction against Luke, which she said was on the same level as that of a sexual assault.
The Judge, however, ordered that the sentences be served concurrently.
Background
On August 16th, 2021, Luke broke into the complainant’s house, entered her bedroom, held onto her neck, and ordered her not to say anything or he would kill her.
According to the prosecution’s facts which he did not dispute, he placed a knife to the woman’s neck and began to cuff her to her face, head, and neck. He then held onto her hair and pulled her off the bed, while demanding gold and money.
The victim’s granddaughter was awoken and began crying, which saw Luke ordering her to shut the child up, or he would kill her also.
The court heard that the victim begged the accused not to hurt her granddaughter while he continued beating her.
He then turned off the lights and dragged the victim by her hair from the bedroom to the inner stairway and placed the knife at her neck and then raped her after which he dragged her from the stairway to the lower flat where a safe was located and she handed over to him $100,000.
In continuing the attack, he then dragged the victim by her hair to the eastern side of the dining area where he threw her down on the floor and raped her once more.
According to the facts, the victim begged her attacker multiple times to stop but he did not. After assaulting the woman, he escaped and she became unconscious.
Relatives were eventually alerted and the woman was rushed to the hospital.
A police report was filed and the Luke was arrested.
He told investigators that he had been drinking vodka with a friend and smoked a joint prior to breaking into the woman’s house.
