Man jailed for 40 years for sexually assaulting child

On Friday, 8 January, 2016, Murphy Noorhan was sentenced to a total of 40 years for sexually assaulting a child family member.

Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry handed down the sentence (20 years for each count of sexual activity with a child) after considering the probation report, plea in mitigation and the aggravating factors of the  offence.

The report prepared by the probation officer was very balanced and considered things which were in Noorhan’s favour as well as those which were against him. Among many other things, the report considered that Noorhan worked all kinds of odd jobs to provide for his family but it also considered that he was in a strong  position of trust with the child.

The plea in mitigation is a plea made by the man’s Attorney to try to reduce the severity of the sentence. But defence counsel James Bond maintained that his client was innocent and could not be rehabilitated in jail but would come out a worse man. He noted that Noorhan had an alibi and that although the prosecution’s case  was that the accused had penetrated the victim twice, the medical certificate did not show any bruising to the girl’s vagina.

After considering the seriousness of the offence, its prevalence, the accused’s position of trust and all of the relevant factors Justice Priya Sewnarine-Beharry sentenced Noorhan to a total of 40 years in prison around 10:40am. Noorhan’s sister became hysterical and began to scream until she was unconscious. Passer-bys on the road could have heard the raucous.

The State was represented by state counsels Stacy Goodings and Siand Dhurjon.