A pensioner who was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment after admitting to rape committed in 2016 is now contesting the severity of the sentence at the Court of Appeal.
Gregory Ramkissoon, 63, also known as “Skeage,” had pleaded guilty to the indictment which detailed that on January 4, 2016, in the county of Demerara, he had engaged in sexual penetration with a four-year-old child.
Ramkissoon was, on July 14, 2019, sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall in the Sexual Offences Court of the Demerara High Court. The Judge had also considered his age and ordered that he should not become eligible for parole until after serving 15 years of the sentence.
Before handing down, the sentence, Justice Morris-Ramlall had taken into consideration the nature and gravity of the offence, the manner in which it was committed, and the fact that Ramkissoon had opted to plead early, and did not waste the court’s time.
Now, through his lawyer, Ramkissoon is arguing that Justice Morris-Ramlall blundered in law when she failed to consider that the offence against him included lesser encompassing offences for which he had already been previously convicted in the Magistrate’s Court and had completed a sentence of imprisonment.
Moreover, Ramkissoon is claiming that the trial judge failed to examine the possibility of ordering a probation report to consider other relevant factors when passing the sentence.
He further contends that Rabindra Mohabir, the counsel who had represented him, had failed to mitigate the sentence adequately.
As a result, he believes his conviction is severe in all circumstances of the case.
The State’s case is been presented by Prosecutors Tuanna Hardy and Sarah Martin. The convict is being represented Attorney-at-Law Glen Hanoman.
