Man admits rape at 11th hour
(CNS): Jeffrey Barnes has admitted abducting and raping a 49-year-old woman. Just before his trial was due to start in the Grand Court on Monday morning, Barnes, albeit reluctantly and only with the prompting of his attorney, admitted that last October he abducted his victim from a bus stop on Shamrock Road and then took her to a deserted spot in Admiral's Landing, where he raped her. The guilty pleas were registered by the court at the eleventh hour, just before the crown opened its case against the 32-year-old man from George Town.
Following the admission, Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl Richards, QC, revealed the details of the case against Barnes before the judge adjourned the case for sentencing at a later date.
The DPP, who was prosecuting the matter on behalf of the crown and expecting a trial, told Justice Alex Henderson, who was scheduled to hear the case without a jury, that Barnes had abducted his victim from a bus stop at around 9:40am on 29 October. Prior to that, Barnes had been seen by witnesses attempting to abduct a teenage girl but because of the intervention by the witness, Barnes had driven away.
The rapist, whom police have described as a “dangerous and violent man”, soon turned his attention to a woman who was waiting for a bus to take her to work in George Town in the Red Bay area. He threatened his victim and pointed what appeared to be a gun wrapped in material at her as he forced her into the red Honda Civic he was driving that morning.
Richards told the court that Barnes then drove his victim to a deserted spot in Admiral’s Landing, where he parked the car and forced the woman to have sex at what she believed was gunpoint. He indicated a lake near to where they had parked and told his victim that was where people’s bodies were thrown when they were killed.
The victim begged Barnes not to kill her as she told him she had four children. Barnes then raped the woman using a condom but after the attack he threw it into the bushes, where it was later recovered by police.
Following the forced act of intercourse, when Barnes also attempted to anally rape the woman, the victim refused to get back in the car and told her attacker she would not go to the police; as a result he drove off but the victim was able to get most of the numbers of the registration. As she began walking from the scene of the rape a householder spotted the woman in her distraught state and went to her assistance before calling 911.
Barnes had originally pleaded not guilty to the crime but reluctantly offered guilty pleas in the court on Monday morning. He was asked to repeat his pleas several times, and on the third count of attempted anal rape, Barnes at first said not guilty but after prompting by his attorney, Barnes re-entered a plea of guilty.
The sentencing was adjourned by Justice Henderson until 28 November in order for other outstanding matters against Barnes to also be addressed.
Category: Crime
On one hand, he only pled guilty for the reduced prison sentence.
On the other hand, the God-fearing people of Cayman need to pray and counsel ALL our children, fo there are far worse criminals being bred now.
Plus, even Barnes and Ebanks can find redemption from God — even if they do rot in prison the rest of their lifes as punishment for their crimes.
Look at how may times both Barnes and Ebanks have been to / been in prison. I am pretty sure they would have sought God by now and it clearly doesn't seem to be working.
I say we beg MotherEngland to take ALL our Capital convicts over there, and leave HMP Northward as the minimum-security prison it really is.
No, ‘farm then out’ to Jamaica like we used to before the Northward Country Club was built.
We breed our own rubbish so should keep our rubbish in Northward not senf overseas.
We desperately need a system where after 3 strikes one is out for good! If one breaks the law no matter how petty the crime you are locked up for good if you are a repeat offender. This should also help with those thugs who burglarize homes again as soon as they have been released from prison. The same law should be applied to traffic situations. If you are caught 3 times speeding or breaking the traffic regulations in any way or form the license should be suspended for good!
I read the comments vilifying this now convicted rapist and obviously this man is a sick human being but I would say that I respect his pleading guilty to the crime before God and the people of the Cayman Islands and did not put the victim through the horror and stress of a public trial.
So as bad as this man is he could have been worse, he could have sat there in court and pleaded not guilty all through the trial and thereafter.
Now before you freak out on me I am not saying this is a good guy, but how many guilty felons sit in court, guilty as hell, yet lie their asses off the whole way through. At least this man plead guilty.
Respect ?
Yes that is the word that I used and believe in redemption don't you?
No, because he pled guilty for his own benefit to get a reduced sentence not because he is sorry or seeking redemption.
I save my respect for the victim for her bravery!
This attorney deserves lots of thumbs up for insisting that Barnes pleaded guilty. I only wish that more attorneys would come out and join the fight with us and stand up for “Justice” by whatever definition or context one chooses to put that in. The attorney should ONLY mitigate for these scum bags instead of making their clients feel as though they are innocent- when in actual fact they are guilty as Hell. Going through a trial is too costly which me and you will probably have to pay for, further subjecting the poor victim/s (if they are alive) to relive those horrible moments which no doubt they would rather forget.
( I don’t know for a fact and I don’t speak for any attorney) but would venture to say in all fairness to them, I do believe that when an attorney comes off record, it’s not for the inability of their client to pay, I suspect it might be because of the stubbornness of their client, they simply refuses to take their counsels advice and plead guilty, but no doubt that’s one of the main reasons why most of these criminal elements finds themselves involved the justice system to begin with, because they fail to listen to good and proper advice be it from family, friends or otherwise. Finally, I would like to commend the victim and others involved for providing the right kind of information to Police which no doubt aided in his arrest, and ultimately being charged. Let’s now hope that he gets a nice sentence and when he comes out he is old and grey, and most of all incapable of committing any further acts, especially acts of this nature.
The headlines on the first page of CNS this morning really do not paint a pretty picture.
"Man Admits Rape At 11th Hour"
"Ex-cop Jailed For Six Months"
"Cops disappointed by driver's [sic] phone use"
"RCIPS officers cahse down rape suspect"
"Police nab suspect after shot fired in West Bay"
"Man arrested for stabbing in George Town"
"Two men charged over courier robbery"
Depends on how you look at it. In each case it was about either a suspect being apprehended or charged or a criminal being convicted. Those are much better stories than unsolved crimes which suggest that crime is completely out of control.
May not be pretty, but is a consistent theme of positive action by the RCIPS and offenders being arrested. Every one of these headlines of serious crimes has arrests, so life isn't pretty, but our police are doing what they are paid to do.
And of course, Mr. Baines claims that crime is down………..
How long was he out of jail before he committed this crime? Just like the recent case in west bay with ebanks. Everyone knows these guys are psycho. Why are they still on the streets? It should be life this time for Mr Barnes.
A Violent repetative offender with a history of rape and abuse of women. His victims have to carry the burden of his crimes against them for the balance of their lives.
Additionally, he kidnapped and threatened the lives of his terrified victims in the process, at least one of whom was a minor,.
25 years is NOT sufficient!
This low-life needs be imprisoned for life WITHOUT the posibility of Parole.
Sadly, gone are the days when ALL RAPISTS were whipped with the 'Cat-o-nine-tails', which is why rape was such an uncommon crime bck then.
I say we BRING BACK THE CAT-O-NINE !
I remember when Jeffrey escaped from prison years ago, and said he had to run because he was getting raped in there.
Perhaps before he raped defenseless women, he should have remembered what it felt like to be made powerless and violated. To be hurt and shamed, before he did it again to someone else.
He is sick and evil, and deserves to rot in prison XXXXX
This is one very, very sick man…morally and mentally sick.
He needs to be locked away for the rest of his life because we can't execute him, under British, Cayman and EU laws…
But the judge can order a life sentence for him….or order him pyschologically unfit to live in society….
And confine him to a mental institution outside the Cayman Islands for the rest of his life.
Without such an institution in Cayman, Britain should be taking responsibility for confining people such as him for the rest of their lives.
Disgusting animal! He is a repeat offender against women – give him the maximum.
Sympathies to this lady, you are very brave to come forward and see the prosecution through and we thank you for getting this animal off the streets. We are all safer for your bravery and we wish you a full recover from this crime, you did not deserve this but you are strong enough to pull through. God bless you and take care,
Either the Rcips, the court system or someone has screwed up for many many years with jefferey barnes, he has been raping woman for over 10 years……and still roams the streets, so who is held accountable????
he is a repeat offender because the jail time is too short ! how many women has to be raped before the offender gets life? if i was making the law 1 would be too much. this must be at least 3 convictions for Jeffry Barnes . probably more rapes!
Homemade pepper spray in your purse – Vinegar & scotch bonnets (the hotter the better) in a small spray bottle…. If ever questioned by the police just say you carry it around to flavor your food … 😉
……. and drill out the aperature of the small spray bottle, so it shoots a stream instead of a mist which can come back on the user. Good stuff. I would suggest a bag of marbles in a sock for the coup de grâce, except such a defensive weapon is probably illegal within context of our current penal codes that seem to favor the criminal, rather than the victim.
This story sickens and infuriates me! I cannot understand how someone who the police described as a “dangerous and violent man”, could have ever been eligible for early release? There is no way he finished serving all his time for all the other rapes!!! ughhhhhhh
I hope that poor woman is able to heal. Awful!
He also tried to burn his cell down when he was in lock up at the RCIPS after his escape from Northward….how many years ago has that been???? Can you say useless judicial system….how many lives has he ruined,how many woman has he raped that didn't come forward…
He deserves life.
Can we finally lock up and throw away the key in the matter of Jeffrey Barnes?!
This guy has been terrorizing this community for over two decades now … enough is enough.
From the day I saw him strutting down Shedden Road a while back – fresh out of jail, no doubt – I knew it was only a matter of time before he seriously harmed another innocent member of society.
With all due respect to the members of his family, notably his sister (a very lovely person), that guy is a seriously flawed egg and needs to be permanently institutionalized.
I sincerely hope to never see him freely walking these streets ever again.
*I am even tempted to encourage this latest victim to push for civil action against HM CIPS, CIG, and or the relevant authorities.
Far too often we see the same old names recycled at times of serious offences including rape, murder and physical assaults.
Was Barnes psychologically evaluated prior to his last release? In light of his criminal record and background – who declared him fit to walk amongst us? Was he being monitored subsequent to release? How many (known) others like him are roaming the streets at this very moment?
(I know of / suspect a few more. Should I submit a list to RCIPS? I cannot help but feel a bit of "guilt" knowing that Barnes committed such a horrible crime just weeks after spotting him that afternoon.)
In my opinion, in light of the background of the accused, the criminal justice system of the Cayman Islands failed this latest victim. Clearly the normal way of doing things is not working and another approach must be explored.
I wish her well with her recovery, and I hope she does consider looking into the above. Surely there is a local attorney out there that would consider it a worthy cause and offer their services pro bono.
Let it be understood that the motivation is not an award of damages, but the hope for a stronger respect and appreciation for the duty of care from the relevant authorities to the general public.
Whodatis…
Your comments have touched the very depths of my soul here.
We know who these people are, and while I no longer live in Cayman, my entire family still does.
Maybe because the higher-ups in authority do not see and encounter the Jeffrey Barnses of Cayman in their daily lives…and only encounter them when they are in the judicial system….they do not know the fear and intimidation that these type of people spread in the local community with their criminal, psychotic and border-line insane behaviour and actions.
The fact that they prey on the defenseless and harmless people in Cayman is what makes it so frightening….not for myself…but for those innocent souls who are and could become their victims at any point in time.
And, even more scary…is the law's forbidding of these female victims to carry and use any type of self-defense tool such as MACE or pepper spray for their own defense.
If this woman had had any such item and fought back with it, justfiably injuring Barnes in the process of her own self-defense…SHE would have been hauled before Cayman's courts and charged as well….there is something quite sickeneing about that.
For my own behalf…give me 5 minutes with Jeffrey Barnes, a guy that I deeply despise….and Cayman would have NO MORE problem with him !
He deserves 25 years, no doubt he'll get a fraction of that and be out doing it again soon enough…
I really hope you are wrong……
He should be locked away for the rest of his natural life, but when the Human Rights Bill is put into law he will be back out sooner than you can bat an eyelid and he will repeat again…….he is a serial rapist, always has been and always will be.
Barnes is evil.
However, I suggest you read the "Human Rights Bill"; it says nothing of the sort and ill-informed comments like the above undermine the real good that it will do in our community.
If I am not mistaken, it takes away the "life" sentences i.e. those who have been locked away for murder on life sentences, rape on life sentences etc. At Northward, life means exactly that, life, you die there.
But in the UK that is deemed to be against ones human rights. Meaning……..they will all be eligible for parole.
So unless someone else wants to comment, these characters will be roaming the streets in the not too distant future.. That was th epoint I was trying to make. Scary.
I'm afraid you are mistaken. The points I was trying to make were:
1) The Bill of Rights does not prevent whole life sentences.
2) Mistakenly commenting in the terms above is counter-productive.
And, for what it's worth:
3) Whole life sentences are not "against ones [sic] human rights" in the UK.
4) For this individual and crime a whole life sentence is probably both appropriate and legal.
The Bill of Rights permits somebody who has been sentenced to life a right to parole after x amount of time.
In Cayman, if you are sentenced to life you do not get any such right, you are there for your entire life.
Soooooo….what the Bill of Rights will mean in Cayman when it is enacted is…..that people at Northward who have been given life sentences without parole, will then be afforded parole hearings and subsequent possibilites of release back into our society.
End of story. Hope I made it clear for you.
25 yrs? this guy should never walk the streets again because he would only return to do the same thing.
I wish Cayman had death penalty for these kind of people!
Please crawl back under your stone.
Ugh, what a scumb bag. This story actually makes my skin crawl and makes me think twice about EVER waiting alone for the bus. There seems to be more and more crimes against lone women lately, guess it's time to learn to protect ourselves better.
Protect themselves with what??? Only criminals are authorized to carry weapons!! Of course they are not "legally authorized" to carry them but none the less they are the only ones that have them. I am 50 years old and have grown up in Cayman all my life and law enforcement officers are not even allowed to carry weapons! Too bad that lady didnt have a taser gun or a nice full can of pepper spray in her purse!!
I agree with you and believe many choose to not report the crime of rape. Who knows what this man has done before.