Liquid Love Bar owner jailed for 10 years; to pay Venezuelan victims over $4M

The proprietor of the Liquid Love Bar on Station Street, Kitty, Georgetown, was on Wednesday sentenced to a total of 15 years imprisonment for trafficking two Venezuelan nationals and was also ordered to compensate the victims over $2M each.

Savita Persaud was found guilty and sentenced by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

The charge read that between January 31 and March 8, 2019, at Station Street, Kitty she recruited, transported and harboured two female Venezuelan nationals for sexual exploitation; one of the victims is underage.

The Chief Magistrate sentenced Persaud to serve 10 years imprisonment for trafficking the underage girl and five years for trafficking the adult female. The sentences will run concurrently which means she will only serve 10 years imprisonment.

The Cheif Magistrate used the 2005 TIP Offences Act to impose the ten-year sentence for the trafficking of the underage girl.

Section 8(1)(c) of chapter 10:06  of the Act states that if the trafficked person had not attained the age of 18 years, five years may be added to the sentence.

Meanwhile, the businesswoman was also ordered to pay $2.3M to the child victim and $2.2M to the other Venezuelan woman.

The trial was held in-camera and Persaud was represented by Attorney-at-law George Thomas.

In May, Persaud was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and fined $1.1M on three charges stemming from the same matter.

She was jailed on two counts of confiscating the Venezuelan women’s immigration documents for the purpose of trafficking and guilty of employing a child on a premises that sells intoxicating liquor. The child is 17 years old.