Neville Lloyd Passard has been sentenced to 8-and-a-half years in prison for raping two girls under the age of 12 and molesting a 4-year-old girl.
Passard, 57, who is originally from Jamaica, was convicted in October 2021 of four counts of defilement and seven counts of indecent assault.
The assault was discovered after a parent noticed a change in her young daughter’s behaviour and questioned the child.
The girl told her mother that Passard had sexual intercourse with her on two occasions when she was between 7 and 8 years old. The child also told her mother that on one occasion Passard asked her and two other young girls, who were between the ages of 4 and 5 years old, to perform sexual acts on him.
Two days after an initial confrontation with the children’s parents, he was caught at the airport trying to return to Jamaica.
“The offences, in this case, are of a serious nature against children whose care he was entrusted with,” said Justice Cheryll Richards, as she handed down her judgment on 5 May.
Under the Cayman Islands Penal Code a person convicted of defiling a child under the age of 12 years old, can be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
When considering the length of the sentence, Richards said the location where the incidents occurred, the fact that Passard used his position of trust to instruct the young girls not to tell their parents, and the subsequent impact on the very young victims were all aggravating factors.
Those factors were balanced against Passard’s numerous medical conditions and the effect serving a sentence would have on his health; his age and a deep concern that he might “live out his last days in prison”; his previous good character; and his efforts at rehabilitation while in custody.
When weighing the aggravating and mitigating factors, Richards concluded that an alternative sentence to a custodial sentence was not appropriate.
An original sentence of 11 years and three months was imposed; however, that was discounted by 25% for a final sentence of 8 years and six months.
Since his arrest, he has spent 953 days on curfew, which resulted in a further 283 days being deducted from his sentence. The seven months that he has spent in custody following his conviction will also be deducted from his overall prison time.
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8 1/2 years is not enough. The children that were sexually abused are serving a life sentence of carrying the burden and consequences of that abuse. The child never forgets what happened, and I have seen the results of what it has done to children. A beautiful young teen hides under oversized mannish looking clothes because she does not want anyone looking at her body. Another girl, instead has chosen the path of promiscuity, feeling she is damaged goods anyway. The fear of rape is on the mind of many, and also fear of being kidnapped and trafficked. One carries the shame of not going to her parents sooner, because it resulted in her sisters being abused. The loss of innocence is replaced by the guilt of not stopping the touches. KNOW THIS…8 1/2 YEARS IS NOT ENOUGH…NEVER.
The law provides for a 20 year sentence for raping a child under 12. This monster raped two girls when they were around 7 or eight years old and molested a 4 year old girl, and these are only the cases we are aware of. His ‘medical conditions” seem to have considerably mitigated his sentence, yet they had no effect on his depraved sexual appetite. This sentence should be appealed.