Releasing child rapist on bond

THE EDITOR: Judge Holdip’s decision to release a child rapist on bond after two years in prison boggles my mind, and is further evidence that magistrates and judges in TT need a rigorous course in the administration of the law before assuming their official duties. Surely the mother’s forgiveness of the rapist is irrelevant; she was not the victim. Moreover, children have rights, especially to have their person protected from degrading acts.

Does the mother’s “forgiveness” mean that she will overlook the degradation, pain, and terror her daughter will have suffered during the rape, or the subsequent psychological problems she will manifest in many subtle and overt ways? Surely the judge should know that women who have been raped suffer a lifetime of humiliation and torment, which directly and indirectly adversely affect their relationships with their husbands, especially in the sexual sphere. What on earth does “counselling” mean in these circumstances? Will the state pay for a lifetime of counselling for this girl as she wends her way through life with her psychological problems stemming from the rape? And does the rapists claim that he has found Christianity mean that the Holy Ghost has descended upon him to provide immunity from secular punishment? Sure, he is now sorry; all criminals are when they find themselves facing long prison terms.

In Louisiana a man was recently given the death sentence for the rape of an eight-year-old and in Arkansas a 17-year-old teenager was given 25 years last August for raping his 12-year-old sister. Rape, Judge Holdip, is viewed in western societies as a vicious crime, especially when the victims are children. And serious crimes merit harsh penalties. Judge Holdip should also know that, apart from encouraging the defendant to lead a law abiding life in the future and deterring him or her from future offences, sentencing policy includes the following objectives: protecting society, punishing the defendant, deterring others from criminal conduct by demonstrating its consequences, preventing the defendant from committing new crimes by isolating him or her for the period of incarceration, securing restitution for the victims of crime, and (urgently needed in TT) achieving uniformity in sentencing. The state should appeal this ridiculous sentence.

KENNETH AQUAN-ASSEE
Port-of-Spain