15 years jail for raping trainee nurse

A 35-YEAR-OLD father of two was yesterday sentenced to 15 years in jail for the abduction, rape and assault of a 20-year-old trainee nurse. In passing sentence on Khemraj Maharaj, of Lachoos Road, Penal, Justice Herbert Volney said, “society needs to be protected from people like you.” Maharaj was represented by attorney Mewahal Chatoor while the prosecution’s case was led by Senior State attorney Roger Gaspard. The jury in the First Criminal Assizes found Maharaj guilty on the four charges which included rape, kidnapping, indecent assault and common assault. The charges arose from an incident on July 3, 2001, when the 20-year-old victim was heading to her workplace at the Penal Health Centre.

Around 7 am, the young woman was walking along Laltoo Trace when Maharaj pulled up alongside her in a Datsun pick-up van and offered her a ride. She accepted and entered the van, telling him she was going to Penal. While driving through SS Erin Road, Maharaj told the student nurse he would drop her at the junction at Clarke Road. However, on reaching the junction he continued driving, telling her he was going to meet a friend first. Instead, Maharaj detoured into Wilson Road and parked the van. The woman testified that when she protested as Maharaj pulled on her shirt, he slapped her face. As she began to cry, he continued pulling on her clothing. He then drove to an area where there were several abandoned buildings, parked the vehicle and proceeded to rape her in the van. During the act, the woman offered him $500 and begged him to release her. When he drove back into Penal he took her to an ATM machine where she withdrew $500 and handed it over to him.

The victim then made her way to the Penal Health Centre where she related to a nurse what had happened, and was taken to the Barrackpore Police Station where she made a report. Some three weeks after the incident, Maharaj was pointed out by the victim on an identification parade. Maharaj’s defence was that he and the young woman were in a relationship for six months and they had consensual sex. Maharaj said the victim gave him $500 to begin divorce proceedings from his wife. His attorney said Maharaj is the father of two children, aged five and six years old, and his wife recently passed away. Maharaj will serve ten years in jail since the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.