STUNNED and disgruntled was Julius Branker when he was on Wednesday sentenced to 40 years imprisonment for the knife-point rape of a mother of one at her home in 2014 in the county of Demerara.

The sentence was imposed by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall in the Sexual Offences Court in the Georgetown High Court after a 12-member jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

The accused was clearly rattled by the sentence. In handing down her sentence, the judge said that the accused has failed to show remorse and did not even ask the court for mercy after she considered the nature of the offence.

The 40-year-old in response told the court that he was innocent and if he did it the police knew he could be found stating that his relatives can say where he was at the time of the incident.

In his plea of mitigation, defence counsel Maxwell McKay said that his client is a religious man who is a model prisoner and is a father of three and has a grandchild whom he supports.

The offence occurred on February 15, 2014 when the accused was armed with a knife and broke and entered the home of the victim while, she was in bed with her 18-month-old baby when he committed the act.

Halima Khan who appeared on behalf of the victim and is the Red Thread Support Officer in a statement told the court that the virtual complainant is tramautised by the incident which has left her feeling ‘nasty’.

She has forgiven the accused but added that she relives the incident as if it happened yesterday and is unable to lead a normal life as it relates to relations with men. The young woman stated that she simply cannot get over what happened and hopes the accused will reach out to Christ for what he did.