Following his conviction for twice raping a 12-year-old girl back in 2014 and 2015, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall today sentenced 49-year-old Gavin Assanah to 33 years in jail.
The judge stated that the time spent on remand will be subtracted from the years when he ordered that the offender get counselling.
The judge increased both sentences by one year each, starting from a point of 15 years for the first offence and 16 years for the second, because the convict had shown no sincere regret for the horrible crimes he had perpetrated. Additionally, he is too old to have a realistic chance of rehabilitation, as a younger offender would have.
The judge claimed that in determining the punishments, she took into account both the seriousness and frequency of the offence. Assanah also convinced the child that his behaviour was appropriate because he claimed to adore her. The judge further emphasised that it was not an isolated incidence and that after the second act, he remained in private communication with the victim, giving every indication that he had every intention of continuing the pattern of abuse indefinitely.
The judge mandated that the accused receive counselling once every three months and that the state continue to intervene on the victim’s behalf.
After several hours of discussion, a jury found Assanah guilty of both charges of raping a child under the age of 16 on October 3. Assanah was found guilty of sexually assaulting the kid between August 1 and August 31, 2014, on the first count. Jurors would later determine that he had raped the youngster once more on January 26, 2015, just a few months later. The panel rendered a majority decision of 11 to 1 on both points.
Additionally, the court had mandated that Assanah undergo psychological testing in light of what she had described as his cheery demeanour throughout the trial.
However, a report by forensic psychologist Dr. Meena Rajkumar found the defendant to be coherent during the evaluation and came to the conclusion that he did not require ongoing psychological assistance.
