A 65-year-old retired teacher has been ordered to spend 2 years, 7 months and 17 days in prison for four counts of indecent assault on a 13-year-old boy.
The sentence was handed down on John Clyde Fitzpatrick, of Sion Hill, after a hearing before a magistrate.
iWitness News was only able to obtain the sentence in connection with the hearing as such matters are heard in camera to protect the victims.
However, a police statement in February 2025 said that the offences were committed between September 2024 and January 2025.
“Due to the sensitive nature of the case and the need to protect the identity of the minor, further details cannot be disclosed at this time,” police had said in a statement then.
They, however, said that all necessary legal processes were being followed to ensure justice is served.
Fitzpatrick was charged under Section 127(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, CAP 171 of the Revised Edition of the Laws of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (2009), which states that indecent assault on a child under the age of 15 carries a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment.
Additionally, subsection 2 notes that a child under 15 cannot, in law, give consent that would prevent an act from being considered an assault.
It’s genuinely stomach-turning to see a retired teacher use their position of trust to prey on a thirteen-year-old. Getting less than three years when the law allows for ten feels like a total insult to the victim, who has to carry this trauma for life. Justice really missed the mark on this one.
How can you assault a minor and only get time suited for petty theft? Total ridiculous, because he was a teacher,never know how many suffered in his care.
What’s the nature of the assault?
Who knows what all he was doing all those years of teaching. Old nasty BASTARD!
So with the maximum penalty being 10 years imprisonment and the sentence in this case being 2 years, 7 months and 17 days in prison for four counts, one must wonder why the sentence for four counts fell so short of the maximum. What message does this send to potential perpetrators? What message does it send to those who have been assaulted? Without further information, it certainly appears that rape culture is very much alive and well.
Up to 10yrs…why so little?
I say it all the time, we’re a Rape Culture nation , rather sickening, men like this needs to be “Racked” or Beheaded
Despite of all the women in SVG, he decided to plunge toilet 🪠🚽 on a teenager? He’s a sick man and that has been going on for years. Well, he’s been sent to the right place!!!
I demand the death penalty. Somebody please think of the child.
There are sentencing guideline that must be followed by judges. If the judges depart from these guidelines there sentences would be successfully overturned on appeal.
This is such an insult to the victim. He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He should have been protecting this child instead He chose to prey on him. This is probably the only one brave enough to come forward. What is our country coming to.
2 years, 7 months and 17 days seem trivial, but it sends a message.
It is an open secret in SVG that children are preyed upon, especially by ppl of influence, and the perpetrators continue to walk free and wreak havoc with reckless abandonment. Teenaged girls under 16 are also at the mercy of predators, and what is most terrifying, Vincy parents take financial compensation to abandon the court process.
Sadly, there are many traumatized men and women walking the streets.
This court’s sentence, though trivial, is a start.
Definitely 2 small a sentence 4 so big a crime
It is deeply troubling to
see a case involving the abuse of an 11-year-old child result in what many would consider a light sentence. When a child’s innocence is taken, the impact is not temporary—it can shape their emotional, psychological, and social well-being for the rest of their life.
Justice should reflect the seriousness of the harm done. It should send a clear message that crimes against children—whether the victim is a boy or a girl—are among the most severe offenses and must be treated as such. Anything less risks minimizing the trauma victims endure and weakening public confidence in the system meant to protect them.
This is not just about one case; it is about the standard we set as a society. We must demand accountability, stronger protections for our children, and sentencing that truly reflects the gravity of these acts. Our children deserve safety, dignity, and a justice system that stands firmly on their side.
— Jeremy Graves