Justice Alex Henderson sentenced Ian Cliff Groves to six years imprisonment for attempted rape and indecent assault.
Groves, 41, had pleaded not guilty, then guilty, and then tried to change it back again. Sentencing took place 2 March.
He was charged following a daytime incident in November 2005 after he offered a ride to a young woman waiting for a bus.
He denied the charges and his trial was set for June 2006. He failed to attend and the trial was re-listed. He then entered pleas of guilty. Before he was sentenced, he applied to vacate those pleas.
Justice Mr. Henderson conducted a hearing and formed the view that Groves had testified in an untruthful manner in an attempt to withdraw his guilty pleas.
In passing sentence, however, he did give a discount for the guilty pleas. The judge said he considered that Groves entered the pleas because of genuine remorse for what he had done and a desire to make amends. Since then he had apparently become less remorseful.
The justice said his primary concern was the protection of women in this community.
Crown Counsel Elisabeth Lees said the complainant had returned to Cayman for the preliminary inquiry and for the first trial, but a third trip had been avoided.
The woman was here on a work permit at the time of the incident.
She did not know Groves, but later picked him out of an identification parade.
She said he asked her if she needed a ride and at first she was hesitant, but then accepted. There was some small talk and then he told her he had to drop off some cigarettes for someone before taking her to her destination.
They stopped at a house and when he came back he said his boss had told him to collect something. They drove a long time and she asked to be dropped off on the main road to catch a bus.
Instead, he drove very fast and then stopped near some bushes. He got out of the vehicle and began to talk as if he were addressing people in the bush. He then got back in and told her what he wanted.
When he touched her and she resisted, he said he would kill and rape her. He held up a pair of scissors and said he would bust her throat. He was successful in removing some of her clothing and touching her.
She continued to resist. There came a time when he gave up and searched her belongings. He took four dollars and asked for more. He said if she told anyone what had happened he would kill her.
He then began driving and when he stopped to talk to someone on the road, she jumped out of the car.
After reporting the matter to police, she was taken to hospital. She was found to have an abrasion. Swabs were taken from areas of her body; results reported in June 2006 showed that one swab contained a DNA profile that matched Groves’.
Before then, Groves had given police an interview. He said the woman had emphasised a need for money and from her body language he thought she was offering sex for money. He said there was an agreement that he would give her $50.
He told police that after he kissed her upper body, she stopped him, but still wanted the $50. When he said no, she told him ‘he better mind she don’t call rape.’
Defence Attorney Keith Collins said he could not comment on the summary presented by Ms Lees because Groves wished to appeal the judge’s ruling in not allowing him to change his pleas.
Mr. Collins handed up letters of reference indicating that the defendant was not known to be a violent person.
He also asked the court to take into account the fact that Groves was sentenced in Summary Court in December to four years for separate offences of burglary and non-commercial supply of cocaine.
There had been some previous discussion as to whether Groves’ Grand Court sentences would be consecutive or concurrent.
The issue led Justice Henderson to state that he did not wish to be approached on such matters in the privacy of his chambers. He said his comment was not directed specifically at Mr. Collins or Ms Lees. See separate story.
The judge said his sentence for this offence had to be consecutive to the term Groves was now serving because it was an entirely different matter. But the global sentence – the total time served – had to be fair and reasonable.
Mr. Collins also raised the issue of Groves’ cocaine addiction, which had led to his record of previous convictions. The judge said he understood the causal link between addiction and offences against property because such offences were to get money to buy drugs.
But he said he was not aware of any causal link between addiction and attempted rape.
The judge agreed with Mr. Collins on the importance of the fact that Groves had stopped his assault. He inferred from this that Groves did not have a genuine intention to kill the woman, but was using threats to get what he wanted.
The maximum sentence for attempted rape is 14 years. The judge said sentencing guidelines were elastic because the degree of violence involved could vary dramatically.
He considered Groves’ offence to be in the mid-range, attracting a sentence of eight years. From that, he deducted two years for the guilty pleas.
The sentences of six years for attempted rape and for indecent assault will run concurrently, but consecutive to the four years imposed in Summary Court.
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