New Amsterdam seaman jailed for raping six year old

Apr 21, 2015 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

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…to serve 19 years
Forty-one-year-old Harold Naurayan, of Cooper’s Lane, New Amsterdam, who was on trial

in the Berbice High Court before Justice Brassington Reynolds and a mixed jury for raping a six-year-old girl, was sentenced to 19 years on Monday.
A probation report which was ordered by the judge was presented to the court yesterday. A Psychiatric Consultant presented a report on the victim.
A mixed jury had earlier found Naurayan guilty of having sexual activity with a child family member.
The case was tried in camera, with spectators and the media being debarred, due to the new Sexual Offences Act.
The man was earlier found guilty by an 11-1 verdict of guilty. According to the indictment read by Prosecutor Attorney at Law Judith Gildharie-Mursalin, the accused between February 1, 2013 and April 27, 2013 engaged in sexual penetration with the child.
The probation report which was presented by Social Welfare Officer Judith Van Kennic, stated that Naurayan is the father of six from three different relationships.
The report also disclosed incidents of infidelity on the part of the accused. The report stated that the victim has received counseling to help her cope with any negative psychological effects that she experienced. It ended by urging the court to deal with the matter in a manner that would reflect the serious psychological and other negative effects caused on the victim.
Earlier, Psychiatrist Dr. Maida Creajah who was summoned to give a Psychiatric evaluation told the court that the child would need more than just a psychiatric evaluation.
Dr. Maida Creajah said the victim needs more that a psychiatric evaluation; she needs a Psychological evaluation because she is not mentally ill. She said that a Psychologist had examined the child in her presence, but the doctor is not fluent in English and she does not have the results. She said that the test had proven that the child was in a better shape and she seems to be adapting well. Most of the complaints of nightmares are going away.
Dr Maida however lamented the lack of proper facilities to treat such issues as doing proper and thorough psychological evaluation like X rays and scans
Justice Reynolds had earlier stated that the request for psychological evaluation was to get an expert advice as to whether the incident would have a long term effect on the victim.
Before passing sentence Justice Reynolds said that the act carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and he considered the age of the accused in light of a World Health Organisation (WHO) report that the life expectancy of a male is 63 years and a few months.
“Against that backdrop and the nature of the offence it is 16 to 20 years. He stated that the accused betrayed the trust imposed by the child’s family. He also took advantage and preyed on a little girl in the prime of her youth and relieved her of all of her innocence.
The Judge concluded that taking into consideration the mitigations by Naurayan’s lawyer and the fact that he had no previous convictions, deducted one year and sentenced him to 19 years in jail.
According to prosecutor Judith Gildharie-Mursalin, the accused took advantage of the child when she was six years old and told her not to tell her mother or else she would be beaten.
During the child’s testimony, she was placed behind a screen.
The girl, who is now eight years old, had testified that she had returned from school, and was going to get her slippers to go with her mother who was a vendor on the road, when the man grabbed her and lifted her and placed her on a table in the kitchen. He then removed her underwear and sexually abused her. He threatened her that if she told her mother, she would be beaten. The girl then went and hid at the back of the house. She subsequently went to her mother, but did not tell her anything.
The Prosecutor went on to state that on April 27, 2013, the child’s younger brother complained to her mother that the girl wanted him to climb on top of her. The woman then beat her daughter, but soon realized that something was wrong. She subsequently questioned the child, who told her that the accused does it to her.
The woman immediately took her daughter to the police station. The child was medically examined. The examination showed that the child had a ruptured hymen and there was redness to the vaginal area.
After the man was found guilty Ms Gildharie-Mursaline had asked the court that the man be remanded to jail until he was sentenced. Justice Reynolds had ruled that the accused be so remanded.
Naurayan had earlier given a sworn statement from the dock in which he had denied committing the offence.  He had stated that during that time he was at sea.
His lawyer had also told the jury not to believe the child since her testimony could not have been believed.
But the Prosecutor had urged the court to believe the child.

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