Father of 2 who repeatedly raped teen girl jailed for 16 years

A 41-year-old father of two has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for raping a teen girl.

The man, Collin Venture was found guilty of the crime earlier this month following a jury trial before Demerara High Court Judge Simone Morrison-Ramlall. He was sentenced on Wednesday.

The jury found that he engaged in sexual penetration with the 13-year-old girl thrice during September 2020 at a location in Georgetown.

The girl, who is now 15, in her impact statement, told the court that the incident has left her traumatized.

“When this incident happened it caused me to be sceptical about people around me,” she shared, adding that “ I was upset with myself because I felt like I caused it to happen to me.”

On the first, second, and third counts for the offence of sexual penetration with a child under 16, Venture was sentenced to 14, 15, and 16 years in jail respectively. The prison terms will run concurrently. Justice Morrison-Ramlall also ordered that the convict undergo counselling quarterly commencing from September.

State Counsel Cicelia Corbin, State Counsel Caressa Henry, and State Counsel Paneeta Persaud prosecuted the matter, while Venture was represented by defence counsel Alaira Murphy-Goodman.

According to information, Venture was a friend of the teenager’s parents and would normally visit the shop where the teen would be with her dad. It is alleged that Venture was in the habit of taking the girl to the toilet which is behind the shop to rape her.

The young girl’s stepmother subsequently found her cellphone and discovered some very disturbing messages between her stepchild and Venture. The teen was then confronted and she admitted that Venture would rape her. As such, a report was made to the Police and the investigations commenced.