A PENAL man has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison with hard labour for having sex on five occasions with a 15-year-old girl, after a judge-alone trial in the San Fernando High Court.
Justice Nalini Singh imposed the sentence on Wednesday.
The man, identified as JH, who is currently 31 years old, was found guilty of five counts of sexual penetration of a child under the Children Act.
The court heard that between August 2016 and February 2017, he had a sexual relationship with the teenager, who lived in the same yard as he did in Penal.
The matter came to light after the girl’s stepmother confronted her, which led to her being put out of the home, and a report being made to police.
Evidence in the trial, which began in March, revealed that the first incident occurred on August 28, 2016, at the man’s home. Additional incidents took place in January and February 2017, including one during a birthday celebration and another after the teenager had been displaced from her home.
In her ruling, Justice Singh said the conduct was persistent and continued until it was uncovered by outside intervention.
In assessing the sentence, the judge began with a starting point of 20 years’ hard labour, pointing to the seriousness of the offences, their repeated nature and the fact that the man knew the girl was underage. She also noted that their close living arrangements created the opportunity for the abuse.
However, the court reduced the sentence by a total of 12 years and six months after considering several mitigating factors. These included the man’s role as the provider for his three young children, his steady employment as a labourer, and a probation report which assessed him as posing a low risk of reoffending.
A further two-year reduction was granted due to the lengthy delay in the case being completed. The time he had also spent on remand awaiting trial was also taken into consideration.
The court also took into account the position of the victim, who indicated she did not view the relationship as criminal and asked for leniency. The judge acknowledged her stance but stressed that the law is designed to protect minors, who cannot legally consent to such activity.
She rejected a request by the defence for a non-custodial sentence, stating that it would not reflect the gravity of the offences or serve as a deterrent.
JH was represented by attorney Carlon McLeod, while the State’s case was led by prosecutors Maria Lyons-Edwards, Dylan Martin, Cassie Bisram and Josiah Soo-Hon among others.
