A 20-year-old woman who was found guilty last month of raping a young girl has maintained her innocence, telling a Senior Probation Officer that she was “set up”.
Twenty-year-old Gabriella Allen, called “Gabby,” of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), made another appearance before Demerara Sexual Offences Court Judge Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on Wednesday, the day scheduled for her sentencing hearing.
However, after the child’s mother’s impact statement was read aloud by the prosecutor and the presentation of Allen’s probation report, the hearing was postponed until next month to allow for a psychological evaluation to be done on the convict, and for the findings to be presented.
In the statement, the victim’s mother related that, since the incident, she cannot leave her daughter without underwear, because she constantly touches/ inserts her fingers into her vagina. According to her, the child tells people on the streets about what Allen did to her. She said she leaves her daughter only with her mother, because she does not trust anyone to care for her.
Meanwhile, during an interview with a Senior Probation Officer, Allen claimed that she was physically and verbally abused by her mother while growing up. She shared that as a result of this, she dropped out of school at age 15, and ran away from home.
In relation to the sex offender’s attitude toward the offence, the Probation Officer told the court that she has continued to maintain her innocence, and claimed that she was “set up”.
Allen was found unanimously guilty by a jury of the offence of rape of a child under 16, contrary to Section 10 (3) of the Sexual Offences Act. The verdict was delivered on February 22. As such, her bail was revoked and she was remanded to prison pending her sentencing hearing, which was initially fixed for March 27, but which was later put off until March 29.
Reports state that Allen was first charged with the crime on August 18, 2021, and when she appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, she was remanded to prison. She was eventually granted cash bail.
According to reports, Allen was arrested on August 15, 2021 after a rape allegation was made against her to the Police, prompting an investigation to be launched.
Prior to her incarceration, Allen was employed at a daycare centre.
She was represented by Attorney-at-Law Adrian Thompson, while Attorneys-at-Law Simran Gajraj, Latifah Elliot and Rbina Christmas were the prosecutors.
