Rapist spared corporal punishment, gets 20 years
Man on trial for murder
Darren Bahaw dbahaw@trinidadexpress.com
Saturday, March 18th 2006
A RAPIST, who used a sharpened cutlass to help penetrate a 15-year-old virgin, was spared corporal punishment yesterday as he was sentenced to 20 years in jail for his crimes.
The victim's father told the Daily Express that he wanted the attacker, David Herel, to be flogged to send a message to other offenders.
"So much people getting rape out there and they are not strong enough to come forward and give the evidence," he said.
Herel, 31, of Amaroosingh Street, Longdenville, Chaguanas was found guilty of rape, wounding with intent and two counts of false imprisonment on March 15, and Justice Larry Lalla, presiding in the Port of Spain Fourth Criminal Court at the Hall of Justice had postponed sentencing to yesterday.
Several of the jurors who had found Herel guilty of the offences comforted the victims outside the courtroom after the judge sentenced the prisoner.
In passing sentence, Lalla told Herel that he pounced on a teenager who was "innocent of the ways of the world, still living under the roof of her parents and no doubt looking forward to a life of happiness which is her right".
When you could not get your penis in her you took your cutlass and slit her vagina so that you could get in," the judge said.
After committing the heinous act, Herel in his "demonic lust" told the victim, 'Yuh is a virgin, I like dealing with virgins'.
"Your conduct that night was that of a sex fiend. One could well imagine how your actions will affect her for the rest of her life. Women are blessings we have received from God and ought to be treated with love and respect. The Court has a duty to the women of this country to protect them from persons such as you," Lalla said.
"The other thing which is of concern to the Court was what could be described as the sickening sense of pride with which you said in evidence that for years prior to your arrest you were engaged in crimes such as fraud, robbery, larceny of motor vehicles and kidnapping. The unremorseful manner in which you spoke of your involvement in those activities shows that for the last years in jail (awaiting trial) have not caused you to change your ways," the judge added.
Lalla told Herel that the country needed to be protected from people like him and sentenced the prisoner to 20 years on the charge of rape, ten years on the charge of wounding and five years each on the charges of false imprisonment.
All the sentences were ordered to run together.
Defence attorneys Mario Merritt and Kathy Ann Mottley pleaded with the judge to exercise leniency in passing sentence even though Herel had a checkered criminal background.
This was Herel's third trial for the same offences. A jury had failed to agree in October 2004 and he was ordered to face a retrial and again in October 2005, when his trial was aborted after prejudicial evidence was admitted before the jury.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=143940651
Man on trial for murder
Darren Bahaw dbahaw@trinidadexpress.com
Saturday, March 18th 2006
A RAPIST, who used a sharpened cutlass to help penetrate a 15-year-old virgin, was spared corporal punishment yesterday as he was sentenced to 20 years in jail for his crimes.
The victim's father told the Daily Express that he wanted the attacker, David Herel, to be flogged to send a message to other offenders.
"So much people getting rape out there and they are not strong enough to come forward and give the evidence," he said.
Herel, 31, of Amaroosingh Street, Longdenville, Chaguanas was found guilty of rape, wounding with intent and two counts of false imprisonment on March 15, and Justice Larry Lalla, presiding in the Port of Spain Fourth Criminal Court at the Hall of Justice had postponed sentencing to yesterday.
Several of the jurors who had found Herel guilty of the offences comforted the victims outside the courtroom after the judge sentenced the prisoner.
In passing sentence, Lalla told Herel that he pounced on a teenager who was "innocent of the ways of the world, still living under the roof of her parents and no doubt looking forward to a life of happiness which is her right".
When you could not get your penis in her you took your cutlass and slit her vagina so that you could get in," the judge said.
After committing the heinous act, Herel in his "demonic lust" told the victim, 'Yuh is a virgin, I like dealing with virgins'.
"Your conduct that night was that of a sex fiend. One could well imagine how your actions will affect her for the rest of her life. Women are blessings we have received from God and ought to be treated with love and respect. The Court has a duty to the women of this country to protect them from persons such as you," Lalla said.
"The other thing which is of concern to the Court was what could be described as the sickening sense of pride with which you said in evidence that for years prior to your arrest you were engaged in crimes such as fraud, robbery, larceny of motor vehicles and kidnapping. The unremorseful manner in which you spoke of your involvement in those activities shows that for the last years in jail (awaiting trial) have not caused you to change your ways," the judge added.
Lalla told Herel that the country needed to be protected from people like him and sentenced the prisoner to 20 years on the charge of rape, ten years on the charge of wounding and five years each on the charges of false imprisonment.
All the sentences were ordered to run together.
Defence attorneys Mario Merritt and Kathy Ann Mottley pleaded with the judge to exercise leniency in passing sentence even though Herel had a checkered criminal background.
This was Herel's third trial for the same offences. A jury had failed to agree in October 2004 and he was ordered to face a retrial and again in October 2005, when his trial was aborted after prejudicial evidence was admitted before the jury.
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=143940651
