By Latrishka Thomas
The lawyer representing a man convicted of rape begged the court yesterday for leniency for his client.
In September, a jury found Alfred Greenaway guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman while he was 24 years old.
According to the facts of the case, on September 5 2018 the victim was at her boyfriend’s home when he left for about half an hour.
While he was gone, she decided to take a nap but awoke to find someone standing by a window.
She recognised the defendant – who was practically a stranger to her – just before he ran off.
Being dressed in only a vest and tights, she quickly began to put on a pair of jeans.
Suddenly, the defendant pushed the faulty door open and asked the victim for her partner.
She replied that he had gone out for a bit and Greenaway exited the house.
As the complainant continued to get dressed, the defendant returned and asked her again about her boyfriend’s whereabouts.
She indicated that she was about to go looking for him but the defendant apparently had other ideas.
He ordered her to remove her pants but when she refused, he held a pair of scissors to her throat, removed her clothes and raped her.
After a short trial, the jury sided with the prosecution and found Greenaway guilty as charged.
Yesterday, Greenaway’s lawyer, Pete-Semaj McKnight, mitigated on behalf of his client in the hope that he will not be given the maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
He spoke at length about the character of his now 28-year-old client, and began by saying that despite his build he is “a fragile human being”.
He told Justice Colin Williams that his client suffers from two psychological disorders for which he is currently on medication.
In addition, he said that his client did not have the best upbringing with his family having struggled financially.
Furthermore, he spoke to his client’s poor performance in school.
The lawyer reminded the court of statements made by persons in the convict’s community of Cooks New Extension, which spoke to his actions being out of character.
He also stated that his client is extremely remorseful and asked for compassion.
On the other hand, Prosecutor Daniel Lattery stated that the Crown believes that Greenaway’s actions should be placed in the most severe category and therefore attract the corresponding penalty outlined in the sentencing guidelines.
He spoke to the impact that the incident has had on the complainant who is fearful and wants her rapist to be imprisoned.
The judge postponed the sentencing of the accused until December 7 to give him time to review the submissions made.