A 16-year-old boy is now in custody of the State after a 12-person jury unanimously found him guilty of raping a six-year-old girl back in 2016. The young girl was his neighbour.
The teen boy, who had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge was convicted of the offence this afternoon following deliberations by the jury. According to the indictment presented by State Prosecutors Sarah Martin and Teriq Mohamed, between November 16 and 30, 2016, in Demerara, he engaged in sexual penetration with the underage girl.
Guyana Standard understands that the 16-year-old boy, who was around 13 when he committed the act, saw the girl in his yard and walked up to her. He then proceeded to lift up the girl’s dress after which he inserted his penis into her vagina. The young child later complained, and a report was lodged with the police. Investigations were carried out and the boy was charged.
During today’s court hearing, a court support officer presented a victim impact statement by the child who is now around nine years of age. That statement detailed how she feels about what had happened to her.
The 16-year-old returns to court early next month for sentencing following the presentation of a probation report. This trial was heard before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Sexual Offences Court in Demerara.
