LAWRENCE Hunte, charged with buggery, appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson yesterday and was remanded to prison. The defendant (no address given) pleaded not guilty to the offence, particulars of which said, between September 1, 2005 and February 28, 2006, in North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, he sodomised a seven-year-old boy.
Hunte, who sells rat poison for a living, asked the magistrate what would be the penalty, so that he could make a decision on his plea.
Magistrate Robertson informed him that he could be sentenced to life in prison if the case is determined in the High Court but she could only jail him for six years.
Hunte then maintained his not guilty plea until he can get legal counsel and the case was postponed to April 22.
The defendant previously faced the same charge in 2005 but the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ordered that the old case be discontinued and a new one started.