High Court Judge Calls for Increased Maximum Sentence for Indecent Assault

A high court judge has called for the maximum sentence to be raised for the crime of indecent assault.

“The five-year maximum sentence is definitely not fit for this case,” Justice Pamela Beckles said in Supreme Court No. 5 yesterday, adding it was high time “somebody would see fit to increase it”.

She was speaking after sentencing a 31-year-old man for indecently assaulting his five-year-old niece four times.

He was jailed for four years on each count. He will serve the first two counts concurrently. The second and third will also be concurrent, but will start at the end of the previous two. From those eight years, one-third was discounted for his guilty plea while the 106 days which he spent on remand will be deducted. (SD)