CCJ turns down child rapist’s attempts to overturn life sentences

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Wednesday dismissed a special leave application filed by a Guyanese man, 38, who is serving two life sentences after he was convicted of raping a girl between the ages of seven and eight in 2016 and 2017.

The man, who was appealing his sentence imposed by the High Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal, had argued that the two life sentences were excessive. He is also only eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 20 years in prison.

But the CCJ, based on a summary judgement read by Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee during the Court’s ongoing itinerant sitting in Guyana, did not agree that the man’s punishment was excessive.

In fact, it was noted that the man abused his position of trust by raping the child and he never showed any remorse nor offered an apology for the heinous crime. As such, the man’s special leave application was dismissed.