A man, who said he beat his 14-year-old daughter for sleeping out and continually having sexual relations with adult men, was yesterday sentenced to six weeks imprisonment by Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton.
The father, who expressed concern over the child’s conduct, pleaded guilty to the charge of ill-treatment of child when it was read to him at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
In his explanation to the court, the weeping man revealed a tale of unruly conduct displayed by the teen, whom he said had intercourse with a 30-year-old man; a matter which he subsequently reported to both the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) as well as the police. After that incident, he said she went out on about nine other occasions and repeatedly engaged in sexual relations with older men. These subsequent incidents, he said, were not brought to the attention of the authorities.
On June 15, the man said, he dropped the teen to school for a half-day session that was supposed to end at midday, owing to the sitting of end-of-term examinations. But the girl did not return home until the following midday, according to her father, who related that he began questioning her about her whereabouts and she began giving conflicting stories.
After she started to lie, the defendant said, he got two belts, with which he started to beat her. He said that at no point did he use any electrical wire on the child, nor did he cuff her as claimed by the prosecution, though he admitted to slapping her.
Repeatedly drying the tears from his eyes, the father said the child’s mother died nine years ago and she has been living with him since then. He made a tearful plea for leniency, saying he has two other children and he is the sole breadwinner of his household.
As he pleaded for mercy, he told the court that he is not the type of father who would physically abuse his children—a claim he invited the court to verify from the girl’s grandmother and aunts, who were seated in the courtroom. At the same time, he bemoaned his daughter’s conduct.
“I don’t abuse them [his children]. She [his daughter] keep doing this again and again and having sex with older men,” he lamented.
The prosecution’s case was that on June 15, the child slept over at her boyfriend’s house. She left the next day and headed to another friend’s house. Upon her arrival there, she met her friend who was preparing to go to dancing; she then proceeded to another friend’s house at Garnett Street.
Some two hours after, Police Prosecutor Simone Payne told the court, the child’s grandmother located her and took her to where the father, a street vendor, sold items at a stand. The court heard that some time later, the defendant proceeded home with the child, who was questioned by her stepmother but refused to respond.
At this point, Payne said the father called the girl over to where he was sitting and questioned her, whereupon she told him “everything.” According to Payne, the man later told the girl to pack her clothes but as she was doing so, he dealt her several cuffs about her body. He then beat her with a belt and thereafter an electric wire, telling her “the belt isn’t working.” After the thrashing, he then ordered her to take a bath. The matter was reported to the police and the defendant was subsequently arrested and charged.
Magistrate Octive-Hamilton reprimanded the father for the severe beating he dealt the child. Reading the doctor’s report from the medical certificate presented to the court, she noted that the child suffered contusions and was beaten with an electrical wire. “You ill-treated and manhandled your daughter,” the magistrate declared.
She said while she understands the man’s concern as a parent for his child, the blows he administered were too much.
Visible marks could be seen on the girl’s hand and her face appeared swollen. The juvenile was present when the case was called but was subsequently excused from the courtroom by the magistrate as the facts unfolded.
The CC&PA representative who was present in court said that after the initial report made by the father, he never made subsequent reports to the agency. She said too that telephone calls were made to the defendant but they were unanswered. The father, who acknowledged that he should have, but failed to make subsequent reports to the CC&PA, denied that any agent from the organisation ever tried contacting him.
The court, after learning that the child now resides with her grandmother, expressed concern that an aged woman has to be tasked with such a responsibility, especially when her father had difficulty with her. The CC&PA officer, however, noted that in addition to the grandmother, the child also resides with two aunts.
Before handing down sentence, the magistrate told the defendant that he needed to “behave properly as a father.” She said he took the law into his own hands when he should have utilised the system as the situation was beyond his control. She explained further that the young girl is in a “crisis” situation and needs proper help and monitoring; a responsibility she firmly endowed on the CC&PA.
The representative from the agency said that counselling sessions will be provided to the teen as well as those in whose care she is placed. The magistrate also ordered that regular visits be made to the child’s school as well as her home.
On learning that her father had been sent to prison over her case, the teen sobbed uncontrollably and was being consoled by relatives who attended court with her. The girl who was standing in the hallway crumbled to the ground in crouched position as she watched her father being escorted to the prisoners’ holding facility before being taken away to the Camp Street Prison.
“Ow, ow, ah want meh father,” she cried repeatedly, while other relatives stood teary-eyed.
