Activist livid over sentence
(CNS) Updated with petition details: A local woman who has been campaigning for many years for a sex offenders’ register and for the local authorities to take the prevalence of child abuse in Cayman more seriously was fuming Thursday when she learned a man who was convicted of abusing his 8-year-old daughter was jailed for only six months. The 44-year-old father admitted various sexual assaults, including forcing his child to watch pornography while he molested her, over a two year period. During that time he also made his daughter watch videos of himself and his girlfriend having sex. The man cannot be named because of a law which prohibits the media from naming sex offenders in case it identifies their victims.
He admitted indecent assault, common assault, insulting the modesty of a woman and making obscene publications.
On hearing about the sentence, Sandra Catron said she was “shocked and disgusted” by the approach some members of the judiciary take to sentencing these offenders.
Although the magistrate handed down custodial sentences for each of the charges on which he was convicted, she ordered them to run concurrently and suspended three months, which means the child sex offender will only serve six months in custody. At the timeof sentencing, Chief Magistrate Nova Hall said she had taken into consideration the fact that the man had entered a guilty plea, had apparently been abused himself as a teenager and was undergoing psychotherapy and taking medication to “address his situation”.
Despite the damage done to the the man’s young daughter, who was reportedly self-harming, she was suffering significant guilt because she believed she was responsible for sending him to jail. Hall said that the child had suffered emotional and psychological problems as a result of the abuse and would need long-term counselling.
“She has not yet reached the stage where she realises she was the victim and not at fault,” the judge said.
Catron called on legislators to take immediate action to implement mandatory minimum sentences for sexual offences, and in particular those against children. The activist also launched a petition on Friday, hoping to collect at least 5000 signatures with the goal of persuading the law makers that they need to address the issue.
“I cannot believe that a suspended sentence is appropriate in any of these cases,” she said. “More and more of them are coming to light and finally it appears that we are having some successful prosecutions. The wrong message is sent when a child rape can be committed and then the person serves less time than if they were caught with some marijuana. We have mandatory sentences for unlawful gun possession and in my opinion this is a far more heinous crime that leaves many victims in its wake,” she added.
Catron also queried why the perpetrators are not being counselled and treated for their sexual interest in children, and criticised the courts for not taking the offence seriously.
“They appear more concerned about the offenders and their sympathetic stories that are used to justify their callous actions than they do the impact on the victim. In most cases these victims are children that have had their innocence stolen and that must take precedence over anything else. The protection of our children is supposed to be 'paramount' in law but then the judiciary dolls out sentences that don’t support that legal contention,” Catron told CNS this week.
Catron has recently been taking the law into her own hands with the creations of a sex offenders’ register on Facebook, which is beingadministered overseas and where she is naming convicted offenders. She has named this offender and a number of others who have recently been convicted.
As a result she has become the subject of a police investigation.
“I can confirm I have now been contacted by the RCIPS regarding their investigation of the SOR FB page. In anticipation of this, the administration of the SOR page is now done offshore in a jurisdiction that the RCIPS has no control over and where setting up such a registry is not a criminal offence in any way. I have no control over the page and think the RCIPS could better utilize their resources,” she said.
Category: Crime
What's the point in sending him to jail? The "Human Rights" crusader will save him from the evil clutches of real Justice.
To the writer of –What this man has done to his
You asked the question 'if you were the son or daughter of the abuser, would you turn your father in?' WELL, WRITER YES! I did!!! I LOST 80% OF MY FATHER'S family because I was the only brave one to not only reported him to the police BUT to hunt him down like a wild hog until he could no longer hide in the country where I am from. He raped my little 7 year old cousin repeatedly until he was caught. When I was informed of the rape I made sure that he went to prison. Although my father was never in my life when I was a child I held no grudge towards him. I was the only child that forgave him for neglecting us when we needed him most. He asked us for help after we became successful. I was the only child that showed him some compassion and took care of him, BUT..after I discovered what he had done while I was caring for him, I sent him to prison. And although he is my dad, he can now rot in jail. My little cousin is now grown, but her life will never be the same. I lost most of my father's family for the stand that I took. But F@*ck them! I knew I had to do the right thing.
What about men falsely accused by women and sentenced by jury because from time you hear a rape trial he is guilty and there is no evidence proving any rape took place but the man was accused just because he filed for divorce within the seven years of marriage and she would not get papers to stay here.
what do we do with the mothers that sell their daughters to these sick men?
what do we do for the men that also get abused by women?
Disgraceful sentence. You get more time for taking a Conch out of the sea. The Couch has more mercy by the Courts when compared to a child being raped at the tender age of 6 thru 8 years. Where is the Judgement when confronted with the evidence?
When do you post the name of a convicted rapist or child molester on a registry? Reason for the question is what if the Court finds a man guilty and he appeals and his guilt is overturned due to an error of the court but his name is plastered all over the world as a molester? Does he sue the persons creating and running said registry along with the judicial system? How does he regain his reputation as we know in Cayman, Guilty even when innocent!!! On another point, unless a mother is not paying attention she MUST know when something is wrong. The child does not behave the same. The child may try to drop hints in her own childlike way and may even try to spend more time with mummy than being with Daddy. So where is the mother in all of this? Do we hold them accountable. Especially after two years a mother must know. Is it that she turned a blind eye? If so why? Did he pay the rent and the bills and she was afraid to do without his income? Is it that he abused her as well? What is it because I cannot believe that a mother did not know for two years that her child was being abused. Last point – I think these men deserve the maximum sentence permitted by Law and they can get all the counseling they want while in jail. They should not be given the opportunity to be amongst decent human beings but one thing all of us are guilty of – we MAKE our children call every man in our family and friend group – UNCLE or every woman AUNTY! Stop that crap. They are not your relatives and if they are cousins down the line they are not AUNTY or UNCLE! STOP IT. I have seen children confused when they reach the understanding that these people are not even family. It is some of these same "uncles" that are molesting our children so please let that also be another lesson we put into practice. Be more vigilant and save our children from these monsters.
Does anyone know what the sentencing guidelines are for this crime?
CNS: Cayman Islands Judicial and Legal Information Website
SEXUAL OFFENCES sentencing guidelines January 2002:
*For RAPE, which has become alarmingly prevalent, an offender can expect a tariff of between 10 and 12 years imprisonment.
*For DEFILEMENT OF A GIRL UNDER 12 YEARS a similar tariff of between 10 and 12 years will be applied.
*If the victim is over 12 but under 16 years of age, the Law prescribes a maximum penalty of 7 years. The Courts regard all sexual offences as very serious and all too prevalent. While the actual age of the girl within each category and the circumstances of the offence will always be important considerations, the basic tariff here will be 5 years where the offender had no reasonable cause to believe or did not in fact believe that the girl was above the age of 16 years.
So why are they not following it?
I think the courts should follow a punishment along the lines of what happened to an unfortunate Australian man involving a fork over the weekend…….
I'm not a lawyer and do not know the facts here. What is seems is that he did not actually penetrate his daughter therefore it is not rape and does not follow sentencing guidelines for rape.
By no means should this be taken to mean I agree with the sentence, even if there was no penetration, am just making an observation of what appears to be a distinction between rape and indecent assault under the Law.
Okay, so I don't understand how he only got 6 months?
Let's just say he got 10 years. He got 9.5 years off for pleading guilty?
And you, Dingdong @ 17:35 He admitted his guilt so it's not like he's going to appeal.
Do you folks know what molestation is?????? ANY sexual touching or forcing to watch sex on tape is as damaging to a 6 year old as anything else you can come up with. She will suffer this through adulthood. FOREVER
Two points here:
1. The Sentencing Guidelines, including the portion quoted, do not actually cover this crime which is indecent assault on a child and is quite distinct from defilement which involves sexual intercourse.
2. The Sentencing Guidelines are out of date and have not been revised to reflect the maximum penalties currently provided in the Penal Code which were increased since 2002 when the Sentencing Guidelines were issued. For example, the maximum penalty for defilement of a girl between ages 12 and 16 is now NOT 7 years but 12 years. It follows that the basic tariff of 5 years should be increased to, say, 9 years.
This is an utter disgrace XXXX. I can not in any way imagine anyone could come up with a sentence of this amount seeing the acts of the perpetrator.
Two years of torture and now a lifetime of pain. What makes this even worse more than ANYTHING else is that it was a father to his own child. Not saying that any other form is not horrible only really saying that in a case like this, this is who the child turns to for nurturing and protection and for someone to take that same position to use it to do such heinous and sick acts is I believe even more damaging.
Magistrate, what were you thinking? Imagine for a moment that this was your child? Who gives a rats a@@ if he admits and all the sympathy. This is IRRELEVANT. It does nothing to lessen the damage done to the child. So XXX the perpetrator suffers 6 months of punishment and the child a lifetime? Does this seem fair to you?
I have said this for a really longtime now. Our system of justice is really messed up.
Gun crimes should be a minimum of 10 years and it should not matter who possessed the gun. If 4 people are involved in a crime with a gun they should all get the minimum no matter if they held the gun or not. The fact remains they participated in the crime and benefitted from the real fear that the gun provided. They also willingly allowed the gun to be used so they should pay the same price.
All major crimes should have minimum sentences that do not allow for any reduction. I would say 10 years should be the minimum sentence for all major crimes and you should have additional time for weapons used in the crime.
Rape with a gun or knife should provoke a sentence with a minimum of 20 years (10 for crime 10 for weapon) and tack on anything additional such as assault, etc.
When we pass light sentences we actually ENCOURAGE crime. When we find people who would maliciously do harm to others they need to be put away for a really long time.
While I believe some people can be rehabilitated I find the damage inflicted MUST be accounted for. You can not in hopes of rehabilitation walk away from your responsibility of justice for the victim. This is what I am seeing here. A complete and utter departure fromresponsibility for crime to rehabilitation is not and never will be the answer.
My plea is that someone does something…..Criminals seem to have more rights than law abiding people….
I would LOVE to know who those 4 are that "thumbs" downed you….for what???? They too must be some of these SICK CAYMANIAN MEN we have around here that like to treat their daughters like they are their mistresses. It would seem that the law condones this sort of SICK & TWISTED behaviour. People like this man here that molested his 8 year old (once innocent) little girl will NEVER be a good father or upstanding citizen. Rather he will continue with his sick behaviour and with little to no regard for anyone else. His guilty plea was well played because he knew it would get him less time.
Whatever you do in Cayman, don't get caught with a stick of weed.
What this man has done to his child his heart breaking. But will adding 1-10 years make a difference to the child, it is her father .They both need counselling. Lets think for a moment . Let us say that it was not reported , he never did it again he never got the counselling, he is now dead. She decides one day to do the same thing? Will she still be looked at the same way as dad? After all she was abused. Should we put her in jail? Is it her fault now because shes older she should know better? Each case is different maybe this is a mental disorder? If we burn them all at the stake , maybe the next one will do something more serious so that they don't get caught.
Just thinking if you were the son or daughter of the abuser will you give up your dad or mom or brother or sister up for a ten- to life imprisonment?
Another question: when they come out of prison should gov. pay them since they will have a label and not be able to get a job? Or should we let them live under the bridge like in miami? Oops no bridge , so where would they live ? This is a mental disorder ? Where is the mental house? That maybe what we need. Let us not pretend that this has just been happening since yesterday. This been going on since the first settlers arrived in Cayman. I spoke to a lady back in the 70's and she told me it is was rampant all over in Cayman. I asked her how bad was it and she it was in the 1000's . I was shocked and asked how could that be and she told me she was trained in the field to be able to see it . She noticed it in all districts. So there you have it . The only thing you can do is mind your children and do things together. Don't leave Mary at home with boys or men and the same with boys.
People like you are part of the problem. If people know that they could be facing 10 years in prison for violating a child don't you think they might be discouraged from doing so? How can you post such an insensitive, stupid comment!
Yes. YES it will mean he can't come out and start it all over again. People like this are TWISTED. He needs 10 years in jail and an additional 5 years in therapy after before we could even BEGIN to consider him stepping foot out in public.
Honestly reading your logic is like that of someone from another planet.
Let’s set this issue straight.
And for all she has to go thru the sick perv only got 6 months.
The only good thing in all of this is and this is somewhat sad to rejoice in but in light of the stupid sentence I do find some sick delight in the fact that prisoners do have some twisted sense of justice for pedophiles. Maybe he will gain a better understanding of how being abused is like.
I'm confused if he's a expat why put him in jail why not just kick him off the island . Its costing us money. Let his country deal with him?
He's not an expat! He's 100% Caymanian and will soon be named!
Lol. What message would that send the expats? Commit all the crimes you want since the worst that can happen to you is that you get kicked off the Island IF you get caught. Wow. Try thinking before typing.
6 months is way too kind. Death penalty is most fair. As a survivor, I know she will never be the same. Not only does sexual assault kill you forever, but your first love and male figure you base all men on is the one to did it all. It will be a very long road to recovery, far longer than 6 months. Bad guy wins.
Whoever sentenced him to six months SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!!!!!!
NO. Should be under judicial review. This is an OUTRAGE!!!
Ask any social worker, counselor,or police officer-when a child discloses sexual abuse they feel sick to the stomach.Why, because people in these professions know fine well that even if they manage to get a conviction that the only one who gets the life sentence is the child. Six months for what that man did to that little girl, give me a break.So glad the magistrate thinks he should be seeing a counselor because after those guys at Northward are finished with him he will need it! Justice!
As usual, we have the "more punishment/incarceration is the answer to prevent this in the future" crowd, coming out in full force.
Sorry, but you are wrong. In spite of how reprehensible this behaviour is, the efforts need to be placed on prevention and treatment. Imprisonment by itself, does nothing for the perp, the victim, or others in similar situations in the future.
And how do you prevent a monster like this from offending? Do you think this is the only victim? Right …
At this point we care less for the perp and more for us and our children. THIS IS IN OF ITSELF OUR PROBLEM. We give the PERP too many rights. I am not against REHAB but you only rehab AFTER your serve your sentence. REHAB should never take the place of repaying of your debts to society. After he spends his time in prison then give him 5 years rehab. Six months is a joke. A sick sick joke.
This is disgusting. Six months for abusing this innocent child? What a complete and utter disgrace our laws are. Something must be done. That man should be locked up for life so he cannot destroy any more children. Special place in hell for this guy.
6 month ????????????
omg, what a terrible disgusting PIG this man is
and what a SHAMEFUL sentence ! shame on the judge !!
20 years would be good !!!
Don't worry maybe he won't last six months. He was beaten up at Northward Prison last night. I onlyhope the inmates are not punished .
I too am outraged at the response of the justice system to this heinous crime…and it only adds to the violation and betrayal of an innocent girl.
What were you thinking Chief Magistrate? Did you not for a moment consider that the pathetic lack of meaninful consequences for these acts of violence against a child was setting a precedent that would confirm the already engrained belief in some twisted minds that our children, girls and boys, are simply prey to be held hostage to an adult's sick desires?
As a lay counselor, I often encounter grown women who are still struggling with the aftermath of these kinds of violations and, without exception, these incestuous betrayals are the most difficult to work through to get a person into a place of healing and restoration of their deeply damaged souls. This is akin to the crime of grievous bodily harm…no less disastrous and debilitating…though the wounds and lacerations are hidden from our sight and the scars remain, not in flesh, but deep in the souls of the victims, affecting every area of their life in negative ways.
And this, of course brings me to the perpetrator, to the violator that was himself violated. Yes, we can all have a degree of sympathy with the abused who becomes the abuser, but if we use that criterion legally then the justice system could offer no real consequences for most criminal acts. There must be a line in the sand especially when the victim is an innocent child. Short of utter insanity, there is not one adult who doesn't know that this kind of violation is wrong, unacceptable, and the very remorse in this particular case was in itself proof of this. If the crime of GBH had been the issue, I am sure the response of the judge would have been commensurate with the violence inflicted on another.
What happened? Why was justice not served? When are we going to hold grown men accountable for such selfish and violent acts against children? What is the justice system going to do to redress their own injustice? What are our legislators, our political leaders going to do about all this? When are we going to create a society where our children are protected from sexual pedators because the consequences, maximum and mandatory consequences consistently delivered from the courts, will make the predator unwilling to risk his life and his future for his sick and twisted, selfish lusts?
We can do it. This wounded little girl deserves the investment of all of our resources to stop this madness. Shame on us if we do any less.
I hope the Attorney General's office appeals this crazy lenient sentence.
When was the last time you saw the AG or hisnoffice do anything about anything?
It would be the DPP, and they are responsible for not bringing the charges in Grand Court in the first place where the sentence would have been higher.
This is absolutely crazy!! He should be jailed and castrated. That is the only way he will never be able to do such harm again. I have a young daughter and just the thought sickens and scares me. How can someone do this to their own. And how little punishment is inflicted for such a crime. Please courts and magistrates- consider the precious victims!!!
I am totally disgusted once again to know that in 6 months this ANIMAL will be free to roam Cayman Islands after the horrible disgusting things he did to his OWN Daughter!!!
Just imagine what he would do to another child! The laws have to be changed NOW unless the predators will continue to get a slap on the wrist after they are convicted of these charges. If he was charged with possesion/consumption of ganga I'm sure his sentence would be more time in Northward.
I pray over my child every day that no one will ever harm her in anyway. My heart breaks for this little girl who has to deal with this tragedy and I hope she is able to get consuelling & live a very productive life after this.
How come he was not charged for the porn material? Is this stuff now legal considering gambling is coming to the island?
I completely agree with Sandra on this. Every parent in this country who gives a rats a** about their children should sit down and write to their MLA's requesting that the law's of this country be changed immediately, so that there is manatory sentencing where the rape of a child is concerned. There is no worse crime, to my mind. I too am fed up with these judges feeling sympathetic towards these scum of the earth criminals and handing down these ridiculous sentences. We now have enough data to reasonably conclude that these people simply cannot be rehabilitated. In six months, this monster will be back on the street. Whose child will be at risk then? As far as the sex offenders register is concerned, why not simply disallow the media printing any details of the case, i.e. age of the child, relationship of the victim to the rapist (if any), when, where or how the rape occurred. Once convicted, simply place the names/photographs on a public register where residents can check to see if any rapists are living or have recently moved into their neighbourhood. We need to do everything possible to protect our children, but we simply cannot continue to protect these criminals by hiding their identity. Come on people, there is a reasonable solution to this.
XXX
How can our lawmakers read these headlines and not be as outraged as we are? Why will it take a petition and months and months of begging and pleading to get these minimum sentencing guidelines changed? Why don't they put it at the top of their agenda?
Why wasn't this case heard in the Grand Court? I think the sentence raises serious questions about whether magistrates have sufficient understanding of the issues to be allowed to hear these cases. This isn't a kid caught with a couple of spliffs or spotted shoplifting in Fosters, he's a paedophile and child molester who needs to spend a lengthy spell in prison followed by life-time restrictions on his movements to ensure the safety of other children. XXXX
While this man's early experiences help us to understand the why of his behaviour, it does not excuse it. He knew what he was doing was criminal and extremely damaging to his child.
He should have been punished more severely. He is a pedophile.
Pediphilia, as I understand it, is not something that you overcome. He will need therapy for the rest of his life.
But he committed a criminal act and should have had the appropriate punishment.
Unfortunately this type of behaviour is much more prevalent in our society than we are aware. And sadly children take on the guilt.
I recall a lovely young girl who was molested while she was "in care." The wife had been away from the island and the husband, the rat that he was, took advantage of this young girl. One evening I picked her up on road and she expressed how guilty she felt for destroying the wife's life.
I assured her that I believed her and that it was not her fault but the man's fault. In fact, it came back to the wife for making an ill advised choice in a husband. (The wife was a really innocent, Christian woman and she opted to marry someone who had had a wild, unChristian life).
in the case of this latest case under discussion, I hope that there are people around who are reassuring this brave young lady for standing up and disclosing this distardly behaviour of her father. She is brave and bright and to be nurtured.
There are many women walking around with such stories that never told and allowed these men to continue to ruin lives.
And congrats to Sandra for working to bring light and change to how we treat sex offenders.
Spot on. It's a lifetime condition, one that no amount of therapy or medication will correct and this magistrate is clearly unaware of that.
Whilst I have mixed feelings about her database (I like the idea but would prefer if it to stick to those found guilty in a court of law only, as opposed to both this and any news articles relating to abuse before a court case has been concluded), I totally agree with her sentiments regarding this sentence, and I am sure most of Cayman feels the same way too. Its an absolute atrocity and complete miscarriage of justice.
It is on those found guilty in court.
The SOR only has up convicted persons.
only those convicted are put there to warn the parents that they are dangerous to their babies, to be careful not to let them around the child. Statistics show over and over again that they will reoffend. They have a mental illness, not a personality disorder. Caymanianjudges are so ignorant.
So why is every newspaper report about alleged/suspended offenders also posted on that site – long before the cases ever go to court? What if someone is later found to have been wrongly convicted of a crime (and please don't say this never happens because we all know it does)?
Blatant SHAME! The adult is more protected than the child.This brings such shame on the Cayman Islands.
Sandra is right to be be outraged, we all should be!
That disgusting man will never have a normal relationship with his daughter and he has ruined her childhood, period. Shame on the Magistratge for this light sentence.
CNS: Have the courts issued a restraining order on this person until the girl is 18? That is the best way to serve justice. He should not be allowed within 10 feet of her ever again.
I hope he will not be allowed to return to the home? Where is the mother in all of this?
While I agree that this sentence is completely bogus, Sandra is being an inconsiderate moron by releasing the identity of the father. Now the entire island will know the identity of the victim and this poor little girl will have to deal with that for the rest of her life here. Sandra fails to see that the courts are protecting the victims by holding back the identities of the accused, but her self serving ego fueled quest makes her blind to what is best for the victim.
You are the moron. His identity has not been released. How about getting your facts straight?!
His photo is on the Fb page for the SOR. It only takes a few minutes to attach it to the name, occupation etc.
You are an idiot. While protecting one person you put the rest of the girls and ladies as risk. It seems to me that you are a bigger moron than Sandra is. If they want to protect the child, then refrain from identifying the age of the female period and her relationship to the criminal minded male. As for his protection, I agree completely that he should be named. My moto is that protection is always better than cure.
Is this the offender writing this?? REALLY??? Get off CNS!
It may not be the best way to protect the child, but since we do NOT have qualified counselors to address sexual abuse, and since our system is broken, this horrid man will be able to return to the home by February 2014 and YES every single neighbor and employer should know about this man.
I heard on Rooster today that the Magistrata took into consideration that this father was still a breadwinner for the family. Huh? and there are other siblings? Huh?
He should never be allowed within 20 feet of ANY child under the age of 18, period. He must be removed from the home. I hope he has a nice life on a long ship journey and sends money home to support his family because he should never be allowed to reside with them again.
Again, where are the baby-mammas in this case?
Maybe an outrageous sentence – maybe not. Absolutely impossible to tell without knowing anything about the facts. Indecent assault covers a wide range of acts, varying hugely in their criminality.
I think there is enough to put him away for 20 years wouldnt you say?
good grief
That would be difficult since the max underthe law is 10.
Professional judge and professional prosecution lawyer heard the facts. You didn't. I'm sure they'll appeal if the sentence was so wrong.
How could this sentence be anything but wrong?
And what gives you the right to judge? This is why we have courts and especially trained judges, to hear all the evidence and wiegh up all the factors. Otherwise, especially here with all the rumours and lies that fly around, he would be hanging from a lampost after a trial by rumour. Would you want to be judged that way if you did something wrong?
"father admitted various sexual assaults, including forcing his child to watch pornography while he molested her, over a two year period. During that time he also made his daughter watch videos of himself and his girlfriend having sex"
Trivial to you I assume and a fair sentence in your pathetic mind
Clearly my "pathetic mind" can't soar to the levels of expertise that you possess. Please share with us your qualifications to comment. Professor of Criminal Law at Oxford Unifersity? I assume that you are aware that in order to sexually assault someone you don't even need to touch them? And before you get on your high horse again, no, this article doesn't say that the victim was touched. That's the point – you can't comment about the severity of the sentence without knowing the facts. And you don't.
You need to spell before you make such stupid comments 13:28
And who are you to judge? Moron !
You could probably use a little help with grammar and punctuation yourself.
Hold on here a cotton pickin second. HE ADMITTED IT!!!!! Our complaint is the LENGTH OF THE SENTENCE. He is GUILTY. He said so himself.
What facts would make this abuse be excusable ??????? Lesser crimes receive higher sentences than this and nothing can make this less than what it is. An unforgivable act against a child and to make matters worse, a child that he is supposed to protect from something like this. Instead he is the one who has committed this unforgivable crime against his own child. I only wish he had done this in the US where even the worst murderer considers a pedophile the lowest of all criminals and would have made his life in prison unbearable.
she's not the only one, that is an awful sentence. With such lenient sentencing you would swear that sexual offences were acceptable in Cayman….
Just another way the government is behind the times.
I agree with you completely Sandra! These perpetrators are getting away with horrendous crimes in return for very little punishment. And these crimes are rampant in Cayman. This "father" should also be forced to pay for his daughter's counseling, in add it ion to more jail time.
I agree that the sentence is light. No sentence is adequate for this crime, but in her selfish rush for personal attention, Sandra has sentenced the victim to a lifetime of derision and shame. She is pretending to be outraged when this is really all about her. Now this child will grow up with no alternative but to be known as a victim. Hopefully, counselling will cause her to not feel responsible and overcome the shame.
Disgusting. Disgraceful. Sadly typical.
Sandra I do not believe in a lot of your political beliefs but on this you are doing a great job and completely support you. This is disgusting how the hell can the courts only give a six month sentence. Any for of sex crime should have a maditory sentence of ten years or more, preferably more. We as a community don't want to except that on our little island have to much of these sorts of cases happening way to often.
You become a community when you stop hiding inder Anonymous name
I too am outraged at this! And even more outraged that our society would accept such a sentence for such a disgusting act by this evil monster! How can we have a young man serving a 10 year sentence for possession of an unlicensed firearm while this monster gets a slap on the wrist for damaging his own innocent child for life! A national disgrace!
It is time for the law to change to protect people from sexual abuse. Harsher penalties should be implemented!!!
The law is not the problem; the sentencing guidelines are the problem.
But the law can remove these sentencing guidelines by implementing MANDATORY sentences – hence what Ms. Catron and the petition states. Good work Ms. Catron.
6 months.. I mean if any man was to molest my daughter I would chop off his testicals and feed it to him then I would torture him till his last breath..
Maybe someone will do that when re-offends.
I fully agree with Ms. Catron that the sentence in this matter appears to be much lighter than one would expect and also feel that the laws might need to be amended. However, it is important that we still give judges the ability to exercise some discretion in these matters. Also, the sentence applied to someone found guilty should also be applied to anyone found to have made a false accusation.
A voice of reason. Thank you for being objective in this sea of ‘revenge’ talk. One can be disgusted by the acts and demand greater sentences/punishment, but reason must stand above all. Otherwise a society of lawlessness prevails. Spot on thinking with the false accusations comment.
So Sandra Catron's reactions to sentences is news now?
Apparently so, particularly when it comes to threatening children.
The parent in us all says this sentence is wrong. However most of us were not at the trial, did not hear the evidence and are probably not qualified to judge the circumstances. The judge, especially being a lday, must have heard something that pursuaded her to make this decision. We have a judiciary, unless the prosecutor has good reason to appeal, that is it, end of story as far as the public is concerned. Now when he is out, social services should be heavily involved.
Social Services? You have to be joking, they area bigger joke than this sentence. They couldn't deal with this if they tried.
11.52, understood, then government has to address that and quick. Whats the alternate? Trial in a kangaroo court?
Kudos to Sandra for her continued fight in this regard. SHAME SHAME on this slap on the wrist.
"Insulting the modesty of a woman"??? This is a CHILD – HIS OWN CHILD. this sexual child abuse. The term "woman" denotes an adult and one who can speak for themselves and bring charges, albeit being a very traumatic circumstance.
We need to STAND UP for our children. Their abusers must be punished; there are some professionals who are of the opinion that there is no rehabilitation for child abusers and that is why the public needs to know who they are in order to protect our children from them.
I am at a loss to understand how the sentencing for this offence can be so lenient.What is happening in our courts to allow this to happen and this is not the first time and there will be more I am sure.The public need to come together on here and in the newspapers and protest this total lack of respect to someone so young and innocent.A disgrace is not the word I would like to use here.
Immigration – I understand the guy is an expat – why is he even here still!!!!???
He probably has irrevocable Caymanian status.
No such thing, unless you are born with it.
Last name is one of the two big Caymanian names… not sure your understanding is correct, though I don't know for sure either.
The system here Sucks, what was That Judge thinking ?? A 8 year old is still a "Baby" he needs to be put away a Hell of lot longer then 6 months. Judges DO YOUR JOBS
It seems too lenient, but it is too easy to jump on the bandwagon and start decrying the legal process in such emotive circumstances. Magistrate Nova Hall is nobody's fool and has her reasons for sentence. I do hope Sandra Catron is appointing herself Cayman's spokesperson on sex offenders for the right reasons and not for personal publicity and attention.
I agree with Snadra Catron for the first time in my life on this. 6 months is a huge slap in the face for the child this scum molested.
I believe that I am right in saying that the vast majority of people living here are outraged by this ruling! It is nothing short of disgusting.
The amount of time the perp got here is shameful. The victim has been damaged for life!!!