Dwayne Hamilton, who raped a four-year-old girl when he was 16, was yesterday sentenced to 12 years for the crime.
Handing down the sentence was Justice Jo-Ann Barlow, who said that while consistency in sentences generally imposed for such offences must be strived for, the court found that the convict’s age at the time the offence was committed was a mitigating factor warranting a lower-than-usual sentence.
The judge was, however, quick to point out that Hamilton’s age was not to be seen as excusing his indiscretion nor as reducing the sentence to a slap on the wrist, even as she noted the court’s recognition that the child was of a tender age herself.
Against this background, she said that the convict was way older than the child and would have been expected to know better. Nonetheless, she said his age at the time operated as a factor mitigating sentence.
The court noted that it also considered the 12 years the matter had taken in the justice system before being brought up for trial, while noting that since 2007, charges of no other kind had been levelled against him.
But in the same vein, Justice Barlow made it clear that the aggravating circumstances of the case could not be ignored.
Against this backdrop, she underscored the overwhelming trust the four-year-old had in Hamilton, which she exhibited in her childish innocence by asking him to assist her in unrolling the waist of her undergarment.
The judge pointed out that had the child known any better, she may not have asked the convict for assistance. Since Hamilton was no stranger to the child or her family, however, the judge opined that it may have been easy for her to trust him.
“But you took advantage of that trust and violated the child’s innocence in the worst way possible,” the judge told the now 28-year-old man.
The court also saw as an aggravating factor, the convict continuing to maintain his innocence, even in the face of the jury’s verdict.
“The court has to raise its voice that our children are to be protected,” the judge said.
Hamilton was convicted by a jury on March 20th, but his sentencing had been deferred for a probation report.
Probation and Social Services Officer Anand Sharma, who read a probation report to the court, said that in his interview with the young man, he continued to maintain his innocence, stating that at the time, he was helping the child to “put on her clothes.”
Noting the weight of the jury’s pronouncement, however, Sharma said that the court needed to execute its mandate by imposing punishment against Hamilton and sending a strong message that such actions would not be condoned.
Meanwhile, the probation officer said that in an interview, the now 16-year-old complainant related to him the constant flashbacks she would experience, which causes her to go “blank” and distracts her from her studies.
Sharma said the young woman specifically singled out her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, which she is currently preparing to write in May/June of this year.
He said that the teen’s family related the difficulty they are having to forgive Hamilton, not only because he has shown no remorse for his actions, but because he was a close friend of theirs, and never expected him to have done what he did.
In a victim impact statement read by the child’s counsellor Celeste Mullin, the court heard that she feels sad, afraid and most times embarrassed, because persons often talk about her assault. But according to Mullin, the child related that she was no longer afraid of her abuser, though she is learning how to “cope and forget.”
Given all the circumstances of the case, Justice Barlow informed Hamilton that he would be imprisoned for a period of 12 years, while admonishing him to take advantage of reform programmes which the prison may have for sex offenders.
Hamilton was represented by defence attorney Ravendra Mohabir, who begged the court to be lenient with his client, citing his age at the commission of the offence and the fact that he had no previous brushes with the law.
The charge against Hamilton stated that on February 21st, 2007, he had carnal knowledge of the four-year-old.
Hamilton, when caught in the act by the child’s mother, ran away.
The trial was heard in-camera at the Sexual Offences Court of the Georgetown High Court.
The state’s case was led by Prosecutor Lisa Cave, in association with Seeta Bishundial and Sarah Martin.
