A police constable who raped an 11-year-old relative several years ago has been jailed for 16 years.
The name of the Vincentian officer has been withheld to protect the identity of the victim in accordance with the Sexual Offences Act.
The disgraced cop, who was on remand prior to pleading guilty to incest two months ago, was sentenced on Thursday in the High Court. Justice Iain Morley condemned the officer for betraying his oath and the trust of the child.
In addition to the 16-year sentence, the officer was ordered to compensate the victim in the sum of $40,000 dollars. He must pay that amount within 12 months, or another six months will be added to his jail term.
Efforts to reach the police top brass to find out what further action they are likely to take against the convicted rapist proved futile.
This officer was sentenced on the same day as the recently convicted and disgraced UK cop, Lee Martin-Cramp, who spiked a young woman’s drink and raped her in her home.
Martin-Cramp had met the young woman on a dating app called Tinder and they spoke for some time before meeting in Antigua when he came for a friend’s wedding in May 2015.
He was sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
Justice Morley said the penalties should serve as a deterrent to others as he expressed abhorrence over the crime.
In the case of the UK officer who was dismissed shortly after his conviction, the judge noted how Martin-Cramp used his job to win the victim’s trust to the point that she allowed him in her apartment to watch a movie after repeatedly discussing and agreeing they would not have sex since she did not want to do so.
But, when she left the living room to change, he spiked her drink and caused her to pass out and not have any immediate memory of what had occurred.
The next morning she awoke, bruised in her private parts and bleeding, while there were bruises on her hands and other parts of her body. When she asked him what had happened, he initially said they did not have sex. After she continued pressing and relaying some of what she could remember, the cop told her she was the one who initiated it. Then, when told she was a virgin prior to that, he said that was something he could not give back and she should pretend it did not happen. He left the country shortly thereafter and then blocked her on social media.
The matter was reported to the local police and a medical examination proved the victim’s suspicions – to an even greater extent than she had thought – something which affected her for a long time after the incident.
Justice Morley said he punished the offender severely to send a strong warning to others not to commit sexual offences, and not to even think of using drugs to incapacitate others and take advantage of them.