A nasty old man

WE AGREE with Chief Justice Sat Sharma; it is a heinous crime when men, abusing their positions of trust, sexually molest young and vulnerable girls. The CJ made this observation on Thursday when the Appeal Court dealt with the case of an 87-year-old man who was found guilty last year of four sexual offences against a 12-year-old girl. John Alfonso of Sangre Grande, a father of ten, was appealing to have his 11-year jail sentence reduced on “compassionate grounds” because of his age and impaired eyesight. However, the point made by Special Prosecutor Devan Rampersad, representing the State, was well taken, as he noted that Alfonso had already received a discount from trial Judge Joan Charles who sentenced him to a total of 11 years instead of 15 or 18 years — the terms of imprisonment which normally apply to these kinds of crimes.

So that instead of seeking a further reduction in his sentence, this nasty old man should consider himself lucky. As far as we are concerned, he should have been penalised to the full extent of the law, regardless of his age. Whether or not he may live to serve out the entire length of his sentence should not have been any cause to win the court’s leniency. The Appeal Court, comprising CJ Sharma and Justices Wendell Kangaloo and Ivor Archie, correctly rejected Alfonso’s appeal, with the CJ observing he had committed “a serious and heinous crime.” And, said Mr Sharma, even if there were medical evidence worthy of merit, the sentences would remain unchanged. Echoing some of the sentiments expressed by Rampersad, the Court noted that in recent months it had been signalling its strong disapproval of sexual offences against young girls committed by men in positions of trust. In our view, this kind of betrayal is what makes offences such as Alfonso’s so vicious.

If little children cannot trust those placed in protective and caring authority over them, then upon whom can they depend? The repeated abuse inflicted on them reduces their lives to a nightmare and the psychological damage they incur may well be irreparable. Alfonso committed the offences nine years ago when he was 78 years old. Terrified by the ordeal, it seems, the girl discussed the incidents with a relative who called in the police and charges were laid against Alfonso. At an age when he should be making peace with his God, this dirty old man was repeatedly sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in his charge. And even now, instead of accepting the punishment he more than deserves, instead of expressing regret for what he has done, he went seeking a shorter jail sentence from the Appeal Court because he is afraid he might die behind bars. Our society must protect children, particularly little girls, from such sexual predators. One sure way of achieving this is through the kind of serious stand taken by the CJ and Appeal Court. We commend them for it.