The Court of Appeal on Tuesday dismissed an appeal filed by 28-year-old Calvin Ramcharran, who was sent to prison for raping a young woman.
In November 2015, a 12 -person jury found Ramcharran guilty of the offence following a trial before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow at the High Court in Demerara.
Court documents note that on July 23, 2012, Ramcharran, then 20, engaged in sexual penetration with the young woman without her consent at Soesdyke on the East Bank of Demerara.
Additionally, he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment on another charge, which stated that on the same day, during the rape, he assaulted the woman so as to cause her actual bodily harm. At the commencement of his trial, Ramcharran had pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Facts presented in court revealed that the young woman and some friends had gone to a party in the area on the day in question. While making her way to the washroom, she was approached by Ramcharran, who asked her if she was “doing business.” The young woman replied, “no,” after which Ramcharran grabbed her hands.
A fight ensued between them during which Ramcharran hit her several times to the head with a bottle while dragging her to the back of an unfinished structure.
The court was told that the convict then choked and punched his victim to her face before raping her. After the attack, Ramcharran offered the woman $65,000 and instructed her to meet him on the road in a car.
Instead, the young lady who was stripped of her blouse sought help from persons at the scene who took her for medical attention. Even after the jury had handed down its verdict, Ramcharran had maintained that he was innocent of the crime.
The appeal was heard by Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Brassington Reynolds.
In passing down a ruling, Justice Cummings-Edwards dismissed the appeal and stated that the court disagreed with arguments that Ramcharran’s sentence was severe in all circumstances.
“The Court will only interfere if a sentence is found to be manifestly excessive or passed on the wrong principles,” Justice Cummings-Edwards said.
Attorneys-at-Law Nigel Hughes and Ronald Daniels represented Ramcharran.
