A defendant who was 16 at the time of his offence pleaded guilty in Grand Court recently to the charge of defilement.
The girl involved was 13.
Facts set out by Crown Counsel Gail Johnson and Defence Attorney James Austin Smith indicated that the girl considered the defendant her boyfriend.
Ms Johnson said the charge arose from an incident that occurred during school holidays.
The girl phoned the boy around 10am and arranged to meet him at his cousin’s house. She then asked her mother for permission to leave her house.
She went to where the defendant was and had sexual intercourse with him.
The girl was later confronted by her mother, who had come to realise that the girl did not go where she had indicated.
The girl told her mother what had happened and the mother made a report to the Family Services Unit. The girl underwent medical examination, which confirmed that there had been intercourse.
The girl also indicated that it was not the first time she had been with the defendant and that he was her boyfriend.
Acting Chief Justice Alexander Henderson asked if the defendant had been in custody for this offence.
Mr. Austin Smith said he had been, for three months.
The attorney explained that a second matter had come up and the defendant was remanded in custody because it allegedly occurred while he was on bail for this matter.
Meanwhile, he told the court, the Crown had indicated the second matter would not be proceeded with, following the guilty plea to the first.
Mr. Austin Smith displayed a folder, 90 per cent of which, he said, was letters written to the defendant by the girl. He described the letters as explicit and sophisticated. He said they demonstrated that the girl was willing, if not the instigator.
That did not remove d the boy’s culpability, but it did go some way to explain it, Mr. Austin Smith submitted. The boy had made a mistake, but it was more understandable than if he had been older.
The judge asked if the girl’s conduct amounted to any form of delinquency.
‘No. She is treated as the victim,’ Mr. Austin Smith replied.
Asked for comment, Ms Johnson said she concurred with the Defence submissions.
In passing sentence, the judge told the defendant, ‘I think everyone knows you’re not allowed to have sex with a 13-year-old girl. I think you disregarded it and you have paid a penalty.’
The judge noted that three months in jail was the equivalent of a six- or nine-month sentence. ‘It would be contrary to your own interest and contrary to the public interest for you to be incarcerated any longer.’
His sentence, therefore, was two years probation, with conditions that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour, that he have no contact directly or indirectly with the girl.
If he comes back to court for a similar offence, he will be dealt with more strictly, the judge warned.
Defilement is carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of consent, which is 16. It is an offence that can be dealt with only in the Grand Court.
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