CoA Upholds Man’s Rape Convictions and Life Sentences, Reduces Parole Eligibility

The Court of Appeal of Guyana has upheld the rape convictions and life sentences of Michael Abrams, a man found guilty of raping a six-year-old girl in 2017.

However, the court has reduced his parole eligibility from 35 years to 20 years.

Abrams was initially convicted by a jury for two separate incidents of sexual assault on the young girl, which occurred between January 1 and 18, 2016, and on January 19, 2016.

The jury unanimously found Abrams guilty on both counts, leading Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall of the Demerara High Court to sentence him to life imprisonment for each count, to be served concurrently.

The trial judge initially ordered that Abrams would not be eligible for parole until he had served a minimum of 35 years. Abrams appealed his convictions and sentence, arguing that he was unfairly tried and that errors made by the trial judge resulted in a miscarriage of justice. He sought to have both his convictions and sentences quashed.

However, the Court of Appeal, led by acting Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, along with Justices Dawn Gregory-Barnes and Rishi Persaud, found that Abrams’ convictions were neither unsafe nor unfair and that the life sentences were appropriate given the severity of his crimes. As a result, the appellate court upheld both the convictions and the life sentences.

The court did, however, grant Abrams’ appeal regarding the length of his parole eligibility, reducing it from 35 years to 20 years. Abrams was also given full credit for the time he has already served in prison.

The State was represented by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Diana Kaulesar-O’Brien, while Abrams was represented by attorney Glenn Hanoman.

During the closed-door trial at the High Court in Demerara, evidence was presented detailing Abrams’ heinous acts, which included sodomizing the young girl and inserting his finger into her vagina.