Rapist jailed for 8 years

When confronted, Homeward added insult to injury by telling the victim’s mother, "She liked it. Nothing wrong with that if she likes it."

In passing sentence on Homeward, 44, also called "Sax" of 10-3/4 mile mark, Toco Main Road, Matura, Justice Malcolm Holdip said the sentence will also demonstrate that the court and the community will not stand by and let these acts be committed against young children.

The judge also noted that, on the facts, the victim’s mother would have thought that Homeward was a safe person to look after her daughter. "Particularly," he said, "taking into consideration the girl’s age and stage of development. She is 17 years (now) but has the mental capacity of a seven-year-old, and the fact is that she would have felt safe to go to his home anytime."

The nine-member jury sitting in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court returned a majority verdict of 8-1 in favour of the prosecution.

The State’s case was presented by prosecutors Cheron Raphael and Natasha George, while defence attorneys were Andrew Cassimere and Carl Quamina.

The evidence was that on May 3, 2002, Homeward invited the victim to his home. While there, he asked her to sweep his house.

Two of her sisters were also there, but he eventually sent them to buy soft drinks at a nearby parlour.

While the girl was sweeping the kitchen, Homeward pushed her and pulled down her underwear.

He then took off his clothes and had sex with her.

She tried to fight him off but was unable to do so. She even warned Homeward, "You will get in big bad trouble."

When the two sisters returned to the house through the backdoor which lead to the kitchen, one of them told the court that she saw a "little bit" of Homeward’s penis in her sister’s vagina.

Sometime later, the girls and their mother went away for the weekend. During that time, one of the sisters told the mother what happened.

The victim’s mother said she began to shiver and did not know what to do. However, when she returned home she confronted Homeward with the accusation, and it was then that he told her that her daughter "liked it" and there was nothing wrong with that.