The Court of Appeal today affirmed the conviction and 7-year sentence imposed on Kenrick Morrison for engaging in sexual activity with an underage girl.
In September 2015, Morrison was found guilty of the offence by a 12-person jury at the High Court in Demerara.
He had initially denied the charge, which alleged that on February 12, 2013, he engaged in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16.
In his grounds of appeal, Morrison, among other things, contended that trial Judge Jo-Ann Barlow misdirected the jurors when she made errors while summing up the evidence.
The sexual offence convict further argued that the trial judge’s summing up was unbalanced as it was in favour of the prosecution.
Before passing the sentence on Morrison, Justice Barlow noted the strict view the law and society take regarding such offences against children and added that the sentence must be reflective of this view.
That further, the judge strongly upbraided Morrison for the position of trust he breached in committing the crime.
The judge had noted too that the offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years but held that no mitigating factors were presented to the court on the convict’s behalf.
As a consequence, Morrison was sentenced to serve seven years behind bars for the offence. However, in 2017, he was granted bail and was released from prison.
The appeal was heard by Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud.
During the virtual hearing, Chancellor Cummings-Edwards noted that there was no miscarriage of justice and, as such, dismissed the appeal.
Given that he is out on bail for two years, the Chancellor said she hopes the convict surrenders to authority to serve his time.
