George Robin, a 66-year-old shopkeeper of #30 Village, West Coast Berbice was on Tuesday sentenced by Justice Brassington Reynolds to 19-years imprisonment for raping a 16-year-old girl in 2017.
Robin, a former member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF), was recently convicted by a 12-member mixed jury for engaging in sexual penetration of the teen on February 6, 2017.
On Tuesday, a probation report was read in the High Court by Social Worker Mehesha Grenville, who visited Robin’s family and interviewed several persons in the village.
Robin is described by his family as a jovial person, who works hard to sustain his family. The accused is the father of 12 and a grandfather of many.
According to the report, residents said that the former GDF rank is known for his perverted behaviour towards young girls in the community, and was also involved in a relationship with an under-aged girl, who later gave birth to one of his children.
But this was never reported to the Police, the Social Worker said.
The Social Worker told the court that Robin operated a shop at a nearby primary school and would request kisses from the school girls.
The Social Worker described Robin as “vain and vulgar” and asked for the appropriate sentence to be meted out to Robin.
Meanwhile, during the reading of a victim impact statement by Court Support Officer, Celeste Mullin, it was revealed that the victim wants Robin to be punished for violating her.
“I would like to forget about it, but I don’t know if I ever can,” the victim said in her statement.
Robin’s attorney Maxwell McKay during mitigation told the court that his client is a “kind and supportive elder, who genuinely contributed to his community.”
Justice Reynolds, before handing down his sentence, told Robin, ” You seem to have two sides – a community leader on one side and another man on the other hand.”
“I will send you to a structured environment where you will benefit from medical attention and religious intervention,” the Judge told Robin as he imposed the 19-year jail sentence.
The State was represented by prosecutors Lisa Cave and Seeta Bishundial.
