Man jailed for raping little sister

Senior Reporter

derek.achong@guardian.co.tt

A 35-year-old watchman, who admitted raping his eight-year-old sister 11 times over a three-year period when he was a teenager, has been sentenced to almost nine years in prison.

The man, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of his victim, was sentenced by High Court Judge Kathy-Ann Waterman-Latchoo yesterday after pleading guilty to 11 incest charges.

According to the evidence in the case, the man first attacked his sibling in 2009 while they were at their home in Port-of-Spain during the Easter school vacation.

The girl was reportedly playing with a toy when her brother, who was 19 years old at the time, invited her to join him in the bedroom they shared.

He undressed and raped her before warning her against reporting him.

He attacked her ten more times before she eventually reported the abuse to her stepmother and grandmother in 2012.

He was arrested and charged after a report was made to the police and she was medically examined. The man denied any wrongdoing, and his case was set for trial after a preliminary inquiry.

However, as the trial was due to commence, the man requested a maximum sentence indication (MSI). In a MSI, a judge indicates the highest possible sentence an accused may receive if they plead guilty and avoid a trial.

He agreed to plead guilty to the charges after Justice Waterman-Latchoo set a starting sentence of 15 years in prison with hard labour.

In deciding on his final sentence yesterday, Justice Waterman-Latchoo gave a two-year discount based on the fact that he did not commit any crimes after he was released on bail pending trial.

After applying a one-third discount for his guilty plea, the man was left with a remaining sentence of eight years and eight months.

As part of his sentence, Justice Waterman-Latchoo ordered that he register as a sex offender on the National Sex Offender Register within seven days of his eventual release.

The judge also directed that information about his conviction be published on the public sex offender website within 14 days.

He was also ordered to report to police four times a year for six years.

The case was prosecuted by Dylan Martin and Niara Boodan.

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