A 16-year sentence was yesterday handed down to 59-year-old Mahadeo Dasrat, who was on Wednesday found guilty by a 12-member jury of raping a woman two years ago.
Dasrat was found guilty of sexually penetrating the then 25-year-old woman on April 11th, 2017, without her consent.
The state’s case was presented by Prosecutor Seeta Bishundial, while the accused was represented by attorney Ravindra Mohabir.
During yesterday’s hearing before Justice Brassington Reynolds and a 12-member jury, Nicole Foo, who is employed at Blossom Inc. as a senior social worker, presented the impact statement taken from the victim.
In the statement, the victim expressed how hurt she was that the attack occurred and her desire to see the defendant behind bars for the crime.
Attorney Mohabir, in mitigation, told the court that his client is the sole breadwinner for his family, which consists of his wife and two children he has been caring for since they were abandoned by their parents. Mohabir noted that his client has no other matters of a similar nature. He then went on to request that justice be tempered with mercy and that the least possible sentence be meted out to his client.
Prosecutor Bishundial, however, told the court that the accused was previously convicted for robbery, arising out of the same attack, for which the proceedings are still pending.
Justice Reynolds then told the accused that men of his age, as they get older want to feel young, psychologically, but have to leave little girls alone. He then highlighted the fact that the only redeemable thing he heard about the accused, apart from him saying he was sorry for what he did, was that he offered care and succor to the two children for some time.
Justice Reynolds started the sentence at 20 years, then deducted one year for the defendant’s remorse, then another three years for the care and succor he would have provided for the children. This left Dasrat with a sentence of 16 years.
