For raping a five-year-old boy whose mother’s home he visited regularly, a labourer, formerly of Django town, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD), has been sentenced to 18 years in jail.
Davindra Petamber, 28, had been on trial for the offence of rape of a child under the age of 16 before Demerara Sexual Offences Court Judge Sandil Kissoon. After deliberations on December 22, 2022, a 12-member jury found Petamber guilty of engaging in sexual penetration with the lad by placing his penis inside his mouth on July 27, 2020. The jury’s verdict was unanimous.
According to the prosecution’s facts, Petamber is known to the victim as they were neighbours and he, Petamber was friends with the child’s mother whose home he would visit regularly.
On the day in question, the child went to the labourer’s home with his mother and siblings. Shortly after, Petamber lured the boy to a semi-secluded area of the property and raped him.
The child’s mother caught the man in the act and reported the incident to the Police.
Even though Petamber was found guilty by a jury of his peers, during an interview with a Probation Officer, he maintained that he would not engage in sexual activity with a minor.
He claimed that the boy’s mother levelled the accusation against him for financial gain.
Meanwhile, the victim, who is now seven, in his impact statement expressed that he is still tramautized by the sexual abuse. He related to the Probation Officer that he would sometimes reflect on what the convict did to him and would become fearful. The boy said that as a result of the incident, he is unable to focus at school, hence, he is not excelling academically.
The victim’s mother, on the other hand, told the trial Judge that she would like the perpetrator to experience the full brunt of the law since the incident has disrupted her child’s growth.
Justice Kissoon, in calculating an appropriate sentence, considered the aggravating and mitigating factors, the factual circumstances, the serious nature, and prevalence of sexual offences against children in Guyana as well as the need to impose a sentence that is a deterrent.
The custodial sentence was imposed by the Judge on Monday afternoon.
