Man found guilty of rape gets 10 years jail

HIGH COURT Judge Rajendra Narine yesterday commended a mother and her teenaged daughter for the courage they displayed in reporting a rape and pursuing the trial to the end. The judge made this remark to the mother and daughter after sentencing Cumuto resident John Jobity, also known as “Mash-up” to ten years on a charge of having sexual intercourse with a female under the age of 14. Jobity was found guilty of the offence by a nine-member jury on Thursday in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court. However the sentencing was deferred to yesterday since his attorney, Fitzgerald Hinds, was absent from the court when the verdict was delivered. In his sentencing yesterday, Justice Narine noted that crimes like these were being committed daily on vulnerable children. The judge stated that society needed to be protected from people like him (Jobity), and as such he must be punished for what he did. He noted that the only mitigating factor in the case was the year and a half that Jobity spent awaiting trial. Hinds requested that the court get a probation officer’s report. However the judge stated that a probation officer’s report would not help in the sentencing process. Hinds told the court that he was happy with the proceedings, in spite of the few differences he had with the State prosecutor. He said these proceedings satisfied the justice of Trinidad and Tobago. 

State attorney Nalini Singh also commended the mother and daughter for the step they took in bringing the perpetrator to justice. The evidence presented in the trial was that around 11 am on Sunday November 25, 2001, the victim was sent to a shop a short distance from her home to buy ice. On her way, she met Jobity, who told her that he had a surprise for her. On her way back from the shop, Jobity grabbed her from behind and pulled her in some bushes, where he raped her. The young lady told her mother what had happened and a search was mounted for Jobity. Two hours later Jobity was found. He was tied and beaten by some villagers, after which the police were called. When the police arrived, they took him to the Arima Hospital where he was treated and later taken to the Arima Police Station and charged for the offence. The jury found Jobity guilty by a majority verdict of seven-two following a three-hour deliberation.