Judge calls man who raped and confined minors “sick and dangerous,” gives him 8 years and 9 months

0
590
gavel
- Advertisement -

By Latrishka Thomas

[email protected]

Justice Ann-Marie Smith angrily told Duffield Destin during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, “You need to face the fact that you are sick, and a dangerous individual, and that you need help,”

Destin, in two separate cases, admitted to having sex with a 15-year-old female on two occasions and confining another to his car less than two years later.

And this was just a few years after he’d finished serving a sentence for buggery and another sexual offence.

The paedophile was sentenced on Tuesday to serve a total of 8 years and 9 months for two counts of “unlawful sexual intercourse” and unlawful confinement.

Engaging in sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of 16 is punishable by a maximum prison term of 10 years, while the maximum sentence for unlawful confinement is 7 years.

In his sentencing hearing, Destin began by apologising saying “I wouldn’t want that to happen to my child because I have a 2-year-old daughter, and I would like her to grow up knowing that she’s protected.”

Justice Smith later called him a “dangerous individual” and said “young girls must be protected from a person of your ilk.” She then encouraged him to seek or accept help.

The Judge followed the sentencing guidelines, adding and subtracting based on aggravating and mitigating factors, and then deducting 1/3 for his guilty plea as the law stipulates.

In the end, he was sentenced to 4 years and 3 months for each time he had sex with the girl in the first incident, but those sentences were made concurrent. He got a further 4 years and 6 months for confining the other minor. Together, he will serve 8 years and 9 months in prison.

The 44-year-old met the 15-year-old on Facebook in 2019 and began speaking to her daily.

She told him her age and he claimed to be 22, although he was actually 41 at the time. Nevertheless, the conversations eventually became sexual.

 They agreed to meet so she could see who she was speaking to, and he picked her up at school and was to take her home, but instead, he drove to a beach in Five Islands, despite her reluctance.

He had unprotected sex with her in the back seat of the rental car and then gave her a morning-after pill.

In November 2020, she agreed to meet with him again, and agreed to have sexual intercourse with him and they did so at his home.

It was when she asked him for a ride one day that her father saw them together and she was forced to confess.

Then in 2021, Destin grabbed a 12-year-old off the street and confined her to his car by restraining her with his hands and beating her.

She managed to partially escape by opening the car door, but he held onto her. A passer-by noticed the girl’s feet hanging out of the car, saw the struggle, and approached the vehicle. When he got close, he heard the girl’s cries for help and saw the defendant holding her hand and apparently thumping her.

When questioned, Destin claimed the girl had run away from home, and he was taking her back.

The child continued to plead for help, and the passer-by intervened and freed her from the defendant’s grasp. The accused then threatened the man before he sped away in his car.

Destin claimed that he became frustrated while looking for someone who owed him $10,000 and grabbed the girl not knowing if she had any relation to the debtor.

- Advertisement -

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

thirteen − 11 =