Latest update February 20th, 2025 12:39 PM
Father of 12 gets 19 years for raping teen
Former soldier George Robin, now 66, will be spending the next 19 years in jail. On July 11, a 12-member jury unanimously found him guilty of having sex with a 16-year-old girl without her consent. Robin, a father of 12, who was accompanied by his counsel Maxwell McKay, appeared before Justice Brassington Reynolds for sentencing at the High Court in Demerara yesterday.
RAPIST: George Robin
According to the indictment, the offence was committed on February 6, 2017. Before Justice Reynolds imposed the sentence a probation report was read to the court. The report had some disturbing findings. For one, the probation officer who compiled the report said she interviewed residents in Robin’s community.
According to the probation officer, residents reported that Robin was in the habit of engaging in vulgar sexual-related conversations with young girls. While residents expressed some degree of shock at the charge against Robin, they indicated to the probation officer that it was not surprising since Robin was known to exhibit perverted tendencies to young women.
Despite these revelations, the probation officer told the court that none of the instances were reported to the police.
Nevertheless, residents said that Robin was a dedicated Christian. His wife shared similar sentiments with the officer, adding that Robin was a family oriented and jovial person. The man’s wife relayed that the matter at hand has caused grave embarrassment to her family. Though the probation officer was unable to contact the victim, she did speak to her grandmother.
The grandmother told the probation officer that she is happy her granddaughter has finally received justice for an incident that has left her traumatized. Robin, on the other hand, is maintaining that he is innocent, the probation officer related.
Considering all the findings of the report, the probation officer asked that the court impose a sentence that would send a strong message to like-minded offenders, in that no forms of abuse against children will be tolerated.
Soon after the jury had announced its guilty verdict, Robin told the court that the actions of man can only be judged by God.
Court Support Officer Celeste Mullin presented the victim’s impact statement. The victim indicated that she gets angry every time she sees Robin, and wants him to be sent to jail for a long time. The young woman expressed that she is bothered by mixed emotions coupled with depression.
The victim indicated that while she is trying to forget about the incident, it seems impossible to do so. She stated that she is unsure if she will ever be able to.
During a plea in mitigation, Robin’s lawyer, McKay, pleaded with the judge to be lenient with his client. The lawyer asked the court to consider the fact that his client has no previous brushes with the law. McKay added that Robin is a generous elder who has effortlessly contributed to the development of his community. Added to that, the lawyer also asked the judge to consider that his client suffers from diabetes and hypertension.
In arriving at an appropriate sentence for Robin, Justice Reynolds informed him that under the laws the court has the power to impose a life sentence. Instead, Justice Reynolds commenced the sentence at a base of 20 years, from which one year was deducted after giving consideration to all the circumstances of the case.
Justice Reynolds, however, noted that the convict will be going to a structured environment where he will have access to medical attention and religious teachings.
As Robin was being taken away from the courtroom, his relatives flocked him in dismay. They kept asking him, “What to do next?”
“Appeal the case,” Robin told them. There was one young lady who wept uncontrollable and had to be consoled by others.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A flawed interpretation of international law
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News – The assertion that “under international law, Venezuela is responsible for... more
CARICOM Nations Should Respond Together To new U.S. Policies
By Sir Ronald Sanders Ambassador to the US and the OAS, Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News-Two Executive Orders issued by U.S.... more
Weekend Cartoon
