9 months for assaults

Amitava Dutta was sentenced to nine months imprisonment on Monday following his guilty pleas to causing grievous bodily harm to one woman and actual bodily harm to another woman twice. The offences occurred in the context of what Defence Attorney Ben Tonner called domestic violence.

The most serious charge related to an incident on New Year’s Eve 2007, when one woman’s arm was broken in two places and her fingers were bent back resulting in two of them being fractured.

Another woman was assaulted on two occasions in 2008, sustaining lumps on the back of her head, bruises and pulled muscles. In a third incident, Dutta pinned her against a wall, began hitting her and damaged the wall.

Before passing sentence, Justice Alexander Henderson said these were serious offences. “In the Cayman Islands, domestic assaults — or I should say assaults upon women in a domestic context — are unfortunately far too frequent. In my view, there is a pressing need to impose sentences which have some deterrent effect in this community.”

Sentencing involves the need to deter other like-minded offenders, he pointed out, along with the need to deter this offender, provide for his rehabilitation and protect the public.

The judge said he had been provided with victim impact reports: “Each of the victims has spoken in specific terms to the lasting effects, both psychological and physical, of these assaults.”

He said he considered the appropriate starting point for the grievous bodily harm sentence to be nine months, with a two-month discount for the guilty plea. A typical one-third discount was not given because Dutta had said the injury occurred after the woman ran out of the house; he tried to pull her back in and she slipped on wet steps. The judge said he did not find this account credible; he found the woman to be an honest witness trying to tell what happened as she recalled it. He concluded the injuries were the result of a sustained assault.

For the actual bodily harm assaults, the sentence would be three months each, reduced to two months for the guilty pleas, and made to run concurrently but consecutive to the seven months. He noted Dutta had repaired the damaged wall and had provided his attorney with $2,500 to cover any compensation order. The judge ordered that the woman with the broken arm receive $2,442 for medical and related expenses. The second woman did not apply for compensation.

The judge also took into account mitigation by Mr. Tonner, who said Dutta, 34, was of previous good character, had been working in Cayman 10 years as a businessman, effectively the manager of a restaurant, and had applied for permanent residence. He submitted references from someone who had known Dutta 10 years and from a pastor who has known him since January.

In the sentencing hearing, Mr. Tonner called Dr. Mark Laskin as a witness. Mr. Laskin, a clinical psychologist, said he met Dutta for six sessions, treating him for anger management. He told the court Dutta had shown good insight into his issues in that he had sought help. He was questioned extensively by Senior Crown Counsel John Masters.

Mr. Masters told the court he would ask for a recommendation that Dutta be deported after serving his sentence. Justice Henderson said he would leave that question to the Immigration Department. On Tuesday, Mr. Masters confirmed that the Crown will appeal the sentence as too lenient.