JUSTICE Sandil Kissoon, on Tuesday, sentenced a 33-year-old man to serve life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 18 years, for raping a three-year-old child.

Troy Chapman, 33, formerly of Canvas City, Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) was sentenced at the Demerara High Court. In October, Chapman admitted to engaging in sexual penetration with the child on June 15, 2021.

He was represented by Teriq Mohammed, while the State was represented by prosecutors Cicelia Corbin, Caressa Henry, and Paneeta Persaud.

During the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, a social worker presented Chapman’s probation report in court.

The woman said that Chapman was an early school leaver of One Mile Primary School due to him being near-sighted and unable to follow the lessons taught in school.

“This condition, according to his mother, is a family problem since there are other family members with similar experiences. After leaving school he assisted persons in the community with odd jobs for which he would be paid pittances,” the statutory officer told the court.

According to the probation officer, during an interview, Chapman stated that life growing up was very challenging for him and he did not receive any support from his father nor did they have any relationship.

He claimed that there was no positive male role model in his life and his mother often struggled to support them with her “meagre” salary as a security officer.

The social worker said that Chapman was remorseful for his actions and begged for a second chance.

“He claimed he has damaged a close relationship with the family and cannot understand what got over him, not being fully conscious of what occurred until he was arrested,” the officer said.

The mother of the victim, who was also interviewed by the probation officer, said that she was still in shock over the incident and surprised by Chapman’s actions since he had violated their trust.

“They never expected that from him, stating that after the incident her daughter suffered nightmares and would be awakened from her sleep at nights. However, she received counselling from the hospital social worker and has experienced reduced frequency of such occurrences,” the probation officer said.

Justice Kissoon while delivering his sentencing remarks said that “…such conduct and behaviour and acts must never be condoned or accepted. You have committed one of the gravest crimes that exist among humans. You have unleashed anguish and nightmares onto the victim.”

He added that the “horrific and disturbing” offence stands among the “worst of the worst” crimes in society.

Justice Kissoon said that the entire rape incident has been “documented, recorded and captured in video”, which may have influenced Chapman’s confession to the crime.

He remarked that the prevalence of sexual crimes within society has escalated beyond the point of what is considered a “crisis”.

In sentencing, the judge considered the prevalence of such offences, particularly in Guyana. He also considered that Chapman abused his position of trust since he was close to the victim and her family.

Finally, the Judge sentenced Chapman to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole after 18 years. He also ordered that Chapman be subjected to counselling.

Chapman is known to the victim’s family and was a frequent visitor to their home. On the day in question, he went into the child’s bedroom, where she was asleep.

He woke the child and raped her. A passer-by saw the ordeal and raised an alarm. The incident was caught on video and Chapman was arrested.