A then 49-year-old man who took turns raping two girls, aged 9 and 10 years old, while the other watched, then raped one of them on another occasion has received what amounts to a life sentence.
High Court judge Rickie Burnett handed down the sentence on Francis Jackson, 56, on Friday in Kingstown for the offences which he committed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2019.
Jackson could be spending even more time behind bars had the judge not shaved some years off the total sentence, in keeping with the sentencing guidelines and the totality principle.
For this report, the victims will be referred to as Virtual Complaint 1 and 2 (VC1 and VC2).
Francis raped VC1, aged 9, and VC2, aged 10, sometime between March 20 and Sept. 8, 2019.
Then, on Sept. 8, 2019, he raped VC2 a second time and was caught shortly after with a condom on his penis.
The facts presented at the sentencing are that the children complied with Jackson’s instruction not to tell anyone after he raped them between March 20 and Sept. 8, 2019.
Then, on Sept. 9, 2019, Jackson raped VC1, shortly after which one of the child’s relatives came to the area and saw the child hiding where Jackson had instructed her to go.
VC1 was wearing tights, and her underwear was visible and rolled up. The relative inquired about what was happening and the child told the relative about what Jackson had done.
Caught with condom on penis
The relative saw that Jackson had a condom on his penis and a physical altercation ensued between Jackson and the child’s relative, who raised an alarm.
The police who responded met the child with her clothes rolled up and Jackson with the condom on his penis.
During the investigation, VC2 disclosed that Jackson had interfered with her on a previous occasion.
The police escorted Jackson to the station and instructed him to remove the condom from his penis and questioned him about its purpose.
He made no statement at that time about the condom.
The VCs were medically examined and their statements recorded.
They revisited the scene in the presence of the police, a justice of the peace, and child care officers and pointed out where the offences occurred.
In his interviews with police, Jackson denied the allegations.
He was found guilty of all three charges at his trial.
A social inquiry report revealed that Jackson, a handyman, has a speech impediment and developed mobility issues as a result of a bike accident.
Even after the guilty verdict, he maintained his innocence, saying the allegations were a fabrication.
The report said that Jackson suffers from hypertension.
His highest level of education is primary school.
Prison authorities said he conforms to the regulations and is respectful to authority.
His community described him as helpful, quiet, very friendly and a very handy person.
Four members of Jackson’s community were interviewed and they urged the court to give him a chance.
On the other hand, the victims and their families expressed anger and despair and the mother of one of the VCs blamed herself for what had happened to her daughter.
VC1 said Jackson had taken advantage of her and sexually abused her on more than one occasion.
Victims severely impacted
She said that even though years have passed, she is struggling to find her peace. She told the social worker that during the first encounter, she was scared, disgusted and confused and will never forget the feeling, which was not only physical.
She struggles emotionally and on some days she would think about every time Jackson touched and had sex with her, and she would become emotional and cry.
Her life after the assault is not the same.
The victim said she has problems eating, sleeping and even having conversations at times.
She studies the incident, which causes her to respond in a particular way that has left her physically scarred.
The victim told the social worker that her life felt uncomfortable, school felt uncomfortable, and she felt like she did not fit in anywhere. At this point in her life, she does not like or trust men.
She explained how difficult the court process was, adding that her parents are now especially strict with her and the friends that she keeps.
Meanwhile, VC2 said she would never forget the incident and lives with the memories of the abuse.
She felt embarrassed and disappointed in herself and started to blame herself for what happened even as she struggles to cope with the physical pain of the assault.
She has flashbacks that cause her entire body to feel terrible.
Court must protect children ‘from men like Francis Jackson’
Justice Burnett noted that the maximum sentence for Jackson’s crimes is life imprisonment.
He said this shows that Parliament intends for the court to treat unlawful sexual intercourse seriously.
The judge also noted the principles of sentencing: prevention, deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, adding that the court intends to punish Jackson for his crime and deter others.
“Children are a heritage from the Lord,” the judge said, quoting the Bible.
“They must be protected and the court has a duty to protect them from men like Francis Jackson,” Justice Burnett added.
He said that the court would stick to the sentencing guidelines when sentencing Jackson.
For the charge relating to the rape of the two girls on the same occasion, the judge said Jackson had abused a position of trust.
He noted that Jackson also told the children not to report what he had done.
Justice Burnett also pointed out the significant age disparity, noting that Jackson was 40 and 39 years older than the children.
The judge established a starting point of 19 years and six months in prison for the rape of VC1 and 12 years for VC2.
Aggravating features of the offence were that it was committed in the presence of others, the judge said, noting that Jackson had taken turns with both complainants in the presence of each other.
Mitigating was the absence of violence.
The court held that the aggravating features outweighed the mitigating and increased the sentence by two years.
An aggravating feature of Jackson was that he had a previous conviction for a sexual offence, the court said, adding that the favourable social inquiry report and his health condition were mitigating factors.
The court made no further adjustment to the sentences but ordered that they would run concurrently with the sentence for the other rape charge.
Jackson had spent one year, 8 months and 11 days on remand. When this was deducted, he was left with a sentence of 19 years, 9 months and 20 days for raping VC1 and 12 years, 3 months and 20 days for raping VC2.
On the other rape charge, the judge established a starting sentence of 19 years, six months.
After considering the aggravating and mitigating features of the offence and offender, the sentence was reduced by two years.
In considering the totality principle, Justice Burnett noted that counts 1 and 2 were committed on different occasions from count 3 and, therefore, reflect separate criminality.
He said separate acts deserve their own punishment and, therefore, a consecutive sentence is appropriate.
The judge, however, said that having come to that decision, the court had to consider whether the total length of the sentence would be excessive.
He said that in deciding to reduce the sentence further, the court considered the time period of the offence, the victim being the same as in count 1, and a desire to reflect the criminality in the matter without seeking to crush the defendant but to maintain balance and be proportionate.
Therefore, the sentence of 17 years and six months for raping VC1 on a second occasion was reduced to 13 years.
The one year, eight months and 11 days spent on remand was deducted, leaving a sentence of 11 years, 3 months and 20 days, consecutive to the sentence of 19 years and six months.
Therefore, Jackson will serve a sentence of 30 years, nine months and 20 days in prison, slightly longer than a notional life sentence.
Renee Simmons appeared for the Crown while the Crown appointed counsel Patina Knights to cross-examine the VCs, in keeping with the Witness Special Measures Act.
Knight also appeared amicus during the sentencing on Friday.