A man has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter, an assault that left the child pregnant.
According to Antigua.news, Justice Ann Marie Smith handed down the sentence in the High Court on Friday following the accused's guilty plea to a charge of sexual intercourse with a stepchild. The man's identity has been withheld to protect the victim.
The court heard that the offences took place between July and August 2021, when the accused — then 37 years old and married to the girl's mother — engaged in sexual intercourse with his teenage stepdaughter. The abuse resulted in the girl becoming pregnant.
Authorities became aware of the matter in November 2021 after the victim's school reported the pregnancy to police. During the subsequent investigation, the complainant initially provided false information about the identity of the child's father, claims that were later disproved as the inquiry progressed.
Police intercepted the accused at the airport in December 2021 as he attempted to leave the country. At that time, he denied any knowledge of who had fathered the child.
After the child was born in March 2022, investigators sought DNA samples from both the mother and baby. The victim's mother initially refused to cooperate but later consented. Police also obtained a court order to secure a DNA sample from the accused. Testing conducted in Jamaica subsequently confirmed that he was the biological father.
He was arrested and formally charged in April 2023.
In imposing the sentence, Justice Smith identified several aggravating factors: the offender's abuse of a position of trust, the 23-year age gap between him and the victim, and the fact that the offence resulted in pregnancy. The judge determined these circumstances warranted a starting point of just under 10 years' imprisonment.
While the accused received credit for his guilty plea, the court granted a reduction of one-sixth rather than the one-third discount typically awarded to defendants who plead guilty at the earliest opportunity. The lesser reduction reflected the fact that the plea was entered only on the morning the trial was set to begin, resulting in a final sentence of six years.
