Dad, 87, jailed for sex with daughter,9

AN 87-year-old father of ten was yesterday sentenced to 31 years simple imprisonment after a nine-member jury, comprising of seven women and two men, found him guilty of four sexual offences against his nine-year-old daughter.

However, the judge directed that the sentences for the three counts of incest run concurrently, while the one for serious indecency run consecutively. This means that he will only serve 11 of the 31 years in jail for the offences. Justice Joan Charles also explained that based on the sentencing Act of 1986, the maximum sentence for the crime was life in prison.

Following the guilty verdict, the man’s wife had to be removed from the court after she broke down and started accusing the daughter of telling lies.  She stated that the child was always troublesome, but she could not understand why she was doing this to her father. As a result of the outburst, Justice Charles directed the court and process officers to remove the woman from the court. 

During the sentencing, Justice Charles explained that the court must take into consideration the seriousness of the crime and the fact that he had taken his daughter’s virginity when she was only nine years old. She also noted that at the age 12, the victim had to be placed in the St Jude Home and as such was deprived of the benefits of having a mother’s love. She also noted that consideration had been given to the man’s age and the defence’s plea in mitigation. She then handed down the sentence of ten years for each count of incest and one year for indecent assault.

The facts presented by State attorney Alexander Prince was that the victim shared a room with her parents at their two storey Sangre Grande home. While sleeping at around 10 pm on a night in November 1995, she felt something in her vagina and woke up to find her skirt pulled up to her chest and her father standing by her bed in a marino and a sliders. He was fully aroused. He left the room and she went back to sleep. 

On another occasion, the woman awoke to find her father having sex with her. The incident lasted for about three minutes. In March 1995, the victim had a bath and went to bed around 4 pm. She was lying on her belly when her father entered the room, pulled down her pants and had sex with her for about five minutes. The fourth count stemmed from an incident which took place in July 1998. The victim stated that she was in the bedroom when her father entered the room, sat on the bed and started to fondle her breasts. She asked him why he was doing this and he allegedly told her that he “liked to touch them.” In September 1998, the victim reported the incidents to her elder sister, who took her to the Sangre Grande Police Station where WPC Bain took a report. She was then taken to the Sangre Grande General Hospital where she was examined and it was discovered that her hymen was not intact. In defence, the man claimed that his daughter had made up the story because they had prevented her from seeing a young man she liked and was often prevented from going to lime.

In mitigation, defence attorney Wayne Sturge asked the judge to consider the man’s age and the fact that he has no previous convictions. He also noted that a lengthy custodial sentence would amount to a life sentence for an 87-year-old. He also asked that the court not use his client as an agent for sending a message to potential perpetrators of similar offences, since facts have proven that this has not made an impact on the community. He also pointed out that the stigma attached to a conviction of this sort was already punishment enough and noted that the man was no longer “capable” of committing a similar offence.

However, in response, State attorney Alexander Prince pointed out that “this case was not one where the court could tender a sentence of mercy.” He also called on the court to send a message to all male senior citizens that they must leave their daughters alone.
Prince was assisted in the matter by State attorney Angelica Teelucksingh.