An 18-year-old young man was on Tuesday sentenced to three years and three months after he was found guilty of raping a 10-year-old girl twice.
The teen was sentenced by Justice Jo-Ann Barlow in the Sexual Offences Court at the Demerara High Court, after pleading guilty to two counts of rape.
He confessed that on August 21, 2015, in the county of Demerara, he engaged in sexual penetration with the 10-year-old girl. The teen further admitted that on February 16, 2016, he committed the act on victim again.

The trial was conducted in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act, since the defendant was 14-years-old when he committed the act.

He was represented by attorney-at-law Maxwell McKay, while the state was represented by prosecutor Teriq Mohamed.

According to reports, the defendant is known to the victim and on August 21, 2015, he was going to the shop and asked the victim to accompany him.

He then took her to an abandoned house and threatened to kill her little brother if she did not have sex with him. He then raped her and sent her away.

On the second occasion, he raped her in a latrine under the same threat. The victim told her parent and the matter was reported to the police.

In his address to the court, the teen explained that he is sorry for what he did to the victim and the trauma he caused her.

The Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) prescribes a maximum penalty of five years for such offences.

As such, the teen was sentenced to three years for the first count of the offence and three years with six month for the second count. The judge further deducted three months for his guilty plea.

However, the sentences will run concurrently and the teen will serve only three years and three months in prison.

Justice Barlow also ordered that the teen undergo counselling for young sex offenders while in prison.

Also, one week after his release from prison, he has to report to the Probation Department, Ministry of Social Protection, for counselling and supervision.

He was also ordered to enrol in the skills-training programme which is provided by the said ministry, whereby he can learn a trade and gain employment. If he fails to adhere to the court’s orders, he will be imprisoned for one year.