–but lands 18-year sentence instead

FORTY-eight-year-old Wazir Potter was on Thursday sentenced to serve 18 years imprisonment for sodomizing a 12-year-old boy in 2018.
Potter, of Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, was sentenced by Justice Brassington Reynolds at the Sexual Offences Court of the Demerara High Court.
Last month, Potter was convicted by a jury which found him guilty of engaging in sexual penetration with a child who was, at the time, August 8, 2018, under the age of consent.
The State was represented by prosecutors, Sarah Martin and Nafeeza Baig, while Potter’s attorney was Teriq Mohammed.

Potter, in his defence, told the court that the victim’s story was fabricated, and, in an unsworn statement in court, he said, “I done no wrong; and if I do it, let God come down and cripple me right here.” According to the evidence at hand, on the day in question, the victim was standing on a bridge located through a track at Garden of Eden, when he was allegedly grabbed from behind by Potter. Potter reportedly covered the young boy’s mouth to prevent him from calling for help, and carried him into his house, where he reportedly raped him for about 20 to 30 minutes. After committing the heinous crime, he reportedly told the lad that he would kill him if he catches him traversing through the track again.
Potter was arrested after the child’s family made a report to the police.