Appeal Court upholds 28-year prison sentence for rape convict

The Court of Appeal on Monday dismissed the appeal of Colvin Norton, who was challenging his 28-year jail sentence for raping a six-year-old girl twice in 2013.

In 2018, Norton was tried before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow at the Georgetown High Court for two counts of rape.

The jury found him guilty of raping the child between August 1 and August 6, 2013, in the county of Demerara.

Justice Barlow sentenced Norton to serve 24 years for the first count and 28 years for the second count. The sentence was set to run concurrently.

Norton had moved to the Appeal Court, challenging the conviction and severity of his sentence.

His attorneys, Dexter Todd and Dexter Smartt had also challenged the adequacy of the victim’s medical examination.

The appeal was heard via Zoom by Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud.

The State was represented by prosecutor, Mercedes Glasford.

The Chancellor, who delivered the ruling, said that the Court did not find that the trial judge erred in law in her sentencing.

She also said that the sentence imposed by the trial judge was appropriate taking into consideration the mitigating and aggravating factors of the case.

Thus, the Chancellor dismissed his appeal and affirmed Norton’s 28-year sentence.

According to reports, Norton is known to the victim and was a frequent visitor at their home.  Norton, on August 1, 2013, raped the child while she was left alone with him.

The child was afraid and did not tell her parents.  However, on August 6, 2013, the victim’s mother caught Norton red-handed while in the act with her daughter.

The matter was reported to the police station and Norton was arrested.