— for beating promiscuous child
A MAN was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment last Friday after he admitted to ill-treating his 14-year-old daughter. The father of three pleaded guilty to the charge when he appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Police Corporal Simone Payne, prosecuting, said that, on June 16, the defendant cuffed the child several times about her body, and beat her with a belt and an electric cord because she had slept out of his house.
Payne told the court that the virtual complainant slept at her boyfriend’s home on June 15, and went to another friend’s house on June 16. She said the virtual complainant’s grandmother went to the friend’s house to collect her, and she took her to her father’s place of employment.
Later in the evening, the defendant took the child home and questioned her about her whereabouts. The defendant then told the child to pack her things and go to her aunt’s home and stay there; but as the virtual complainant was packing her belongings, the defendant entered the room and cuffed her about her body, before taking a belt and dealing her several lashes.
The defendant told the virtual complainant that the belt was not working ‘good enough’, and he took an electrical cord and dealt her more lashes.
According to the prosecutor, the matter was reported and the defendant was arrested and charged.
The tearful defendant begged the court to be lenient with him, since it was the first time he had ever hit his daughter.
He claimed that the child would get away from home and sleep out of his home. He said that on one occasion his daughter was having a sexual relationship with a 30-year-old man, and he reported the matter to the Child Care and Protection Agency and to the police. He said nothing came of the matter, and his daughter continued with her behaviour.
He said that, on the day in question, he beat the child because she was being deceitful to him when he questioned her. He claimed that he slapped the child and beat her with two belts, and not an electric cord.
The man said his wife died nine years ago, and he is the sole breadwinner of his family.
Before sentencing the defendant, the magistrate told him that she understood how he felt as a parent, but that did not give him the right to take matters into his own hands and brutalize the child. She advised that there are other ways in dealing with such situations.
The magistrate told the probation officer at the court that the child should be counselled while she is staying with her grandmother.
Upon realizing that her father was going to be sent to jail, the child uncontrollably broke down in tears outside the courtroom.
When her father was allowed lunch at the court lock-ups, the child took the lunch for him and began to cry again.
The defendant then told the child not to cry and worry about anything, because he would soon be free.