Judge hands down 85-years prison sentence to Mocha rapist

Forty-eight-year old Jegede Hodge of Mocha, East Bank Demerara, was sentenced to 85 years imprisonment Thursday by High Court Judge Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall for four counts of rape.

But he will only serve 25 years because the sentences will run concurrently.

In November, Hodge was found guilty of the charges by a 12-member jury following a trial at the Georgetown High Court.

Hodge was found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl between May 1 and May 31, September 1 and September 30, 2014; January 1 and January 31, 2015, when she was 14-years old and again between September 1 and September 31, 2017, when she was 16.

Justice Morris-Ramlall sentenced Hodge to serve 18 years on the first charge and 20 years on the second charge; he was sentenced to 22 years for the third indictment and 25 years on the last charge.

The Judge ordered that the sentences run concurrently and that Hodge undergo counselling while behind bars.

In his address to the court, Hodge apologised and begged for forgiveness but in his statement to the probation officer, he maintained his innocence said that the charges were fabricated by the victim.

Hodge was represented by Attorney Ravindra Mohabir while the State was represented by prosecutors Teriq Mohammed, Tuanna Hardy and Nafeeza Baig.

The victim’s impact statement was read to the court and detailed how the incident affected her.

“I wanted to kill myself,” the victim said as she recounted the first time Hodge raped her. After the first incident, the young lady said she started to cut herself.