ST JOHN’S, Antigua, May 08 2017 – A desperate cry to relatives to be rescued from the sexual abuse of her father was made for several years before an adolescent girl was able to get the police involved and her abuser imprisoned.
The 44-year-old father of six pleaded guilty to having sex with the girl repeatedly between 2007 and 2012 and was sentenced to 18 years in prison, with the possibility of early release after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
The incident occurred when the child was between ages nine and 14, and she was residing with her errant father and step mother.
Justice Iain Morley, in handing down the sentence yesterday, said he had intended to sentence the man to 28 years but noted that the man, who was only actually arrested in July 2014, had been on remand since then.
OBSERVER media reports that although the man is convicted, the media is barred by law from publishing his name since this would lead to the identification of his victim and this is a case of incest.
This admonition was explicitly emphasised by the justice who said the victim’s identity must be protected.
Meanwhile, the judge said the man had his sentence reduced by one year for previous good behaviour and a further nine years for pleading guilty at the first opportunity given.
Crown Counsel Rilys Adams said the child reported the repeated unlawful acts to her stepmother who refused to act – accusing the child of lying.
The young girl then reported the abuse to the sister of her stepmother and later to a church pastor who told her, “What your father did was wrong but at the end of the day he is still your father and you should pray for him.”
It was not until the child persisted in her search for help and reached out to a peer that other adults and the police became involved some two years after she was last attacked in 2012.
Source: Caribbean News Service
