Trade Unionist moves to CCJ over rape conviction, life sentence

May 29, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – Micah Williams, a convicted child rapist has now moved to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in an attempt overturn his conviction and sentence. Williams lost his appeal of the two life sentences at the Court of Appeal last December.

Micah Williams

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentencing of the former trade unionist who was found guilty of the rape and sodomy of an eight-year-old girl.

Williams, through his attorney Nigel Hughes, had moved to the Appeal Court three years after his conviction, to challenge the conviction and severity of his sentence. The State was represented by Prosecutor Diana O’ Brien.

The appeal was heard by Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud.

The Chancellor, who delivered the ruling, said that the trial judge did not err in law when she handed down the sentence.

Back in 2018, Williams was found guilty of two counts of sexual penetration of the child by a 12-member mixed jury following their deliberations.

The indictment is that between January 1 and January 31, 2016, he engaged in sexual penetration with an eight-year-old girl. Then again on January 6, 2017, he engaged in sexual penetration with the same eight-year-old girl.

Williams is the founder and General-Secretary of the Guyana Natural Resources, Clerical and General Workers Union (GNRC&GWU). Back then, the jurors after deliberating for almost two hours returned with unanimous guilty verdicts for both counts of the offence.

For his actions, Justice Jo Ann Barlow had sentenced Williams to serve life sentences on both counts of rape. The two life sentences were to run concurrently and the convict only becomes eligible for parole after serving 20 years behind bars.

Kaieteur News understands that Williams who hails from Linden engaged in vaginal and anal sex with the young girl. The convicted rapist showed no remorse at all after being found guilty by his peers. In fact, he maintained his innocence.

He told the court, “This is the most terrifying day of my life. I know to my heart that I did not commit such an act.” He expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision of the jurors.

Justice Barlow, nonetheless, told Williams that there is no justification for his actions. The judge reminded him that in his capacity as a Trade Unionist, he advocated for the rights of people but violated the trust of the little girl.

“I don’t find I could be lenient with you. You cannot claim ignorance of sexual abuse and its consequences,” the trial judge said.

Reminding Williams that he testified to participating in campaigns against sexual abuse, Justice Barlow stressed that the emotional scars of such acts will have an effect on the young rape survivor.