Uncle Sentenced to Eight Years for Indecent Assault on Niece: Details Emerge as Court Considers Diagnosis

A cognitively “slow” uncle was on Monday sentenced to eight years in prison for indecently assaulting his niece five years ago.

The paedophile had previously pleaded guilty to four separate counts of indecent assault against the minor under five years old. In sentencing him, Justice Pamela Beckles said “As the uncle of the complainant you were expected to protect her and not harm . . . . The offences took place in the home where she resided, a place where she should’ve felt safe and secure.”

A diagnostic report on the former Alma Parris student determined that he was suffering from a paedophilia disorder and that he would benefit from a confined space with no unsupervised access to preadolescent children and pharmacological treatment aimed at reducing sexual desires toward children.

Though a psychological assessment said that he had a cognitive ability of an extremely low range but reportedly was able to understand right and wrong and fit to plea.

The judge deemed the offence a very serious one against a child and said the fact that the offences occurred four times was “quite disturbing”.

The court heard how the man intimidated the minor by telling her if she told anyone it meant she didn’t love him. He, however, apologised for his crimes before the No 5 Supreme Court on Monday.

“Sorry for what I did, I know I can’t turn back from wuh I do. I should’ve told my mother everything that happened instead of keeping it to myself,” the now 31-year-old man told the judge.

State Counsel Eleazar Williams, the prosecutor, in reading the facts disclosed that the convict rubbed his privates against the child’s as well as on her buttocks. Those offences occurred between January 1 and June 22, 2019.

In a pre-sentencing report ordered, the man’s mother described him as “slow” and unable to retain information. As a result of these deficiencies, the mother said she was overprotective of him. The 31-year-old man was also assessed and diagnosed as a slow learner who performed below his chronological age and left school without any academic qualifications. However, he later acquired certificates in masonry and landscaping from the Barbados Vocational Board. Over the years he gained employment as a general worker. The report also stated that his relationship with family was ‘good’ except with his sister – the mother of the victim.

A victim impact statement also detailed that the complainant, who is now 10 years old, was seen by the relevant personnel at the Child Care Board. She was referred to counselling after experiencing nightmares, restlessness at night, a loss of interest in schoolwork and was preoccupied with the uncle’s abuse and was lashing out. The court later heard that the child’s trauma symptoms had abated, and her parents reported that she was more manageable. There was no recommendation for further treatment as the therapeutic goals had been accomplished.

The uncle was assessed and determined to be at average risk of being charged or convicted of another sexual offence. The court determined that the aggravating factors of the offence were the nature of the offence, the breach of trust, disparity in age, the relationship between the victim and the convicted man and the intimidation of the victim.

Mitigating in his favour were his guilty plea, clean record, acceptance of responsibility and personal history.

“However, your intellectual disability does not impair your ability to recall or understand the charges against you,” the judge said.

The starting point for sentencing was set at five years which is the maximum sentence for the offence of indecent assault. A discount of one year for mitigating factors was given for each count.

The court considered four years an appropriate sentence for each offence stating that if served concurrently the total length of time would not reflect the overall seriousness of the criminality.

“I also consider it necessary to ensure public confidence in the administration of justice by imposing sentences which do not suggest that multiple offences would be punished in the same way as one or two offences,” said Justice Beckles.

On the first and second counts, a four-year concurrent sentence was imposed. On the third and fourth counts, another four-year sentence was given. The sentence on the third and fourth will run consecutively to the first and second. Discounts were also given for time on remand and guilty plea.