An 18-year-old boy, who confessed to raping a 10-year-old girl on two occasions, was on Tuesday sentenced by High Court Judge Jo-Ann Barlow to three years and three months imprisonment.
The defendant was 14-years-old when he committed the offence and so he was tried under the Juvenile Justice Act.
He confessed that on August 21, 2015, in the county of Demerara he engaged in sexual penetration with the 10-year-old girl; he further admitted to committing the act again on February 16, 2016.
The court heard that the teenager threatened to kill the victim’s younger brother if she did not have sex with him. The first act occurred in an abandoned building while the second took place in a toilet.
For the first offence, the teen was sentenced to three years and for the second offence, he was sentenced to three years and six months.
As a result of his guilty plea, the Judge deducted three months and ordered that the sentences run concurrently, which means he will only serve three years and three months behind bars.
He was sentenced in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act which imposes a maximum of five years for such offences.
The Judge also ordered that the teen is exposed to counselling for young sexual offenders while behind bars.
It was also ordered that after his release from prison, he will have to report to the Ministry of Social Protection Probation Department for a period of two years and should be placed into the Skill Training Program offered by the Ministry so that he can learn a trade and get a job.
Failure to adhere to the orders will result in his imprisonment for a year.
