Appeal Court affirms child rapist’s 28-year jail sentence

A man, who in 2018, was jailed for 28 years after being found guilty of raping a six-year-old girl left in his care, has had his convictions and sentences affirmed by the Court of Appeal of Guyana.

Colvin Norton, 28, was convicted by a mixed 12-member jury of engaging in sexual penetration with the girl on August 1, 2013, and then again on August 6 of the same year. He was 19 at the time.

Recalling evidence presented during the trial, High Court Judge Jo Ann Barlow had said that after raping the child the first time, Norton tried to silence her by threatening to kill her and her mom.

While he raped the girl for the second time, the girl’s mother caught him in the act.

On the first count of rape, Norton was sentenced to 24 years in prison. A 28-year jail sentence was handed to him on the second count of rape. Both sentences will run concurrently.

In asking the appellate court to overturn his convictions and sentence, Norton, through his lawyers Dexter Todd and Dexter Smartt, had argued that his conviction was unsafe and that the jail terms imposed on him were manifestly excessive given the circumstances of the case.

Delivering the ruling of the Court of Appeal on Monday was acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, who said that the court rejected the child rapist’s contention that his convictions were unsafe.

Recounting Justice Barlow’s summation to the jury, Justice Cummings-Edwards held that the jury’s verdict cannot be said to be unsafe or unsatisfactory.

The convict’s appeal against his sentence was also dismissed. In the end, the appellate court accordingly upheld Norton’s convictions and jail terms.