The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Court Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A FATHER was yesterday sentenced to 25 years in prison on two counts of incest for forcing his now adult daughter to have sex when she was still a teenager.

The 48-year-old man, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim, was represented by Murrio Ducille, KC. He appeared before Justice Guillimina Archer-Minns.

There, he faced sentencing for two counts of incest after being convicted last October of sexually abusing his daughter in 2015 and again in 2016 when she was 15 and 16 years old.

During the complainant’s earlier testimony, she said that in 2015 after her father had picked her up from band practice, he took her to his upscale condominium instead of to her mother’s house.

 Once there, he guided her to an area near the condo’s pool bathroom where he rubbed her breasts and thighs as well as kissed her neck.

 While the victim tried to resist him and leave the area, the father undressed her and forcefully had sex with her while she was pinned to the floor.

 In the second incident a year later, after the complainant tried to give her father a second chance after he started paying child support, he took advantage of her once more in his home after they got pizza.

 It was there after putting on pornography that the convict made sexual advances towards his daughter that she refused, only for him to forcefully have sex with her once again.

 Charges were officially filed against him in 2017 and he was arrested later that same year.

 In an earlier trial appearance, an audio recording was played in court of the accused begging his daughter not to tell anyone of the incidents because he was afraid of going to jail.

 While the accused vehemently denied the charges against him throughout the trial, he was visibly shaken after a jury of eight unanimously found him guilty of both counts of incest.

 During the reading of the convict’s probation report, Basil Cumberbatch, assistant director of public prosecutions and prosecutor in this case, called the incest charges rape. Mr Cumberbatch further said the convict refusing to plead guilty, forcing his daughter to relive the incidents.

 He told the justice that a 20 to 30-year sentence would be appropriate.

 In his latest court appearance Justice Archer-Minns sentenced the accused to 25 years at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services for each charge, to be served concurrently.