A 34-year-old North Windward man who abducted a 6-year-old girl and attempted to rape her in March 2016 will spend the next five and a half years in prison.
High Court judge, Justice Brian Cottle on Tuesday jailed Kural Baptiste for one year for abduction, two years for indecent assault, and six years for attempted rape.
The sentences will run concurrently and will include a discount for the time the man has spent on remand, which means he will spend 5.5 years in jail.
Baptiste pleaded guilty to the charge when he was arraigned one week earlier.
At his sentencing, he benefitted from the counsel of lawyer Ronald Marks, who had represented him during the preliminary inquiry, and rose as a friend of the court on his behalf at the arraignment.
The court heard that on the date in question, the victim went to an outside toilet to urinate and the defendant saw her and waited until she was finished.
When she exited the toilet, Baptiste took her to his house, kissed her on her lips and undressed her.
The defendant also undressed himself and attempted to have sex with the child.
He, however, abandoned the crime and gave the child a 25 cents coin and let her out of the house via a sliding window.
The child’s mother, who had gone in search of her, saw her exiting the house and questioned her.
She saw the 25 cents in the child’s hands and reported the matter to the police.
In mitigation, Marks noted that Baptiste had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
He said that while a psychiatric evaluation of Baptiste he had requested had not been provided, the guilty plea was a powerful mitigating factor, which, he said, was buttressed by the fact that at 34 years old, Baptiste had no previous convictions.
The lawyer said that the offences for which Baptiste had pleaded guilty were quite out of character for the man.
He said that Baptiste had told the social worker that at the time of the crime he was in such a drunken state that his judgement was altered.
The lawyer said that while he knows that this is no defence in law, it shows that it was an offence that is totally out of character for the defendant.
He said that Baptiste had shown remorse via his guilty plea.
Marks noted the seriousness of the crimes but asked the court to be mindful of the facts as presented by the Crown.
The lawyer said that there was no violence involved in the abduction, adding that the aggravating factor is the disparity in the ages of the defendant and his victim.
He said that while the indecent sexual assault and attempted rape charges go hand in hand, the attack was not prolonged nor violent.
Marks told the court that the attempted rape is the more serious of the crimes, but also asked the court to consider that Baptiste had abandoned the offence rather than someone having interrupted it.
In handing down his sentence, Cottle noted the seriousness of the offences, adding that abduction can attract a maximum sentence of five years, while the maximum penalty for rape or attempted rape is life imprisonment.
The judge noted that Baptiste had pleaded guilty and had expressed remorse.
He further said that the man had realised that his conduct was wrong and had stopped, and this is why he would not get a more severe sentence.
“It is good that you stopped but you shouldn’t have started,” the judge said, adding that there is no way to know how the ordeal might affect the girl when she is grown.
As much as I believe Ronald Marks is a decent person and everyone should have representation regardless of circumstances, this man is sick. Marks makes himself look bad by representing this man as a “sort of “friend”. 5 years for someone who is turned-on by small children means he may be out of prison even sooner based on “good behavior”. Sex crimes are often a different type of crime than other “violent” crimes, and the perpetrator has a different type of personality. Nevertheless there should be a way to keep these people out of society for a much longer time maybe indefinitely, because they are nearly always repeat offenders. How can our Justice System put someone in jail for a longer period of time for having a few ounces of Ganja but let these people get-off with a minor punishment? What if it were the judges’ child that were molested?
Generally the Saint Vincent Justice System is shameful when it comes to Sex Crimes!
Hit them hard, no sympathy.
I always wonder how lawyers take such cases. I would be thinking what if it were my daughter?
This man is sick!!!! Sick and twisted!!!
It should have been 6 for 6 for 6.Six years in prison for trying to rape a 6 years old child.Then 6 feet under the ground.
In reply to how do Lawyers take and defend against these crime? It is a lawyer, barrister or what ever you choose to call them duty to undertake theses roles. Often a lawyer will represent his/her client knowing that he/is guilty, but it is their job to represent. Many a such case when evidence present itself, which proves guilty without a shadow of doubt, such client are often advised by counsel to plead guilty, if such clients decline this advice, and wishes to try to contest the charge, the counsel will have no choice but to respect his/her client wishes and defend them to the best of their ability. That his the Law schools teaching.
A lawyer can opt to no longer represent his/her client. We do have choices, the initial one being whether or not, you want to defend the accused.
There is no law school teaching that we must continue to defend anyone or defend them in the first instance (a legal aid application being a noted exception, which in and of itself is not final).
Where in the lawyer presentation does he say that he is a friend of the accuse? It stated that he rose as a friend of the court. Totally different interpretation in law.
The LOST one always think he/she knows but is always so wrong. Andy B, you are correct in your terminology that counsel rose as a friend of the court, which has a specific meaning in law. Lost Pet is once more ignorant of facts.
A simple google search would have given him/ her the definition of “friend of court.”
Big old stupid guy they should of beat his ass to death baggage.
Lets give him only 5 years cause he change his mind and nah bother rape she! My goodness wake up people he abduct a 6 year old from her home and attempted to rape her.. we need much harsher penalties for these crimes.
Yes! because if he had RAPE her I could of just imagine what this little girl would of been going through, these kind of guys need to put away for some good years.
This man is a pedophile. I am shocked why someone would try to defend these sick beings. Nobody has the right to abuse a child. If was their child, then it will would have been a different story. Hope this man is now listed on the Sex offender register.