Latest update November 8th, 2024 1:00 AM
Latest News
Man gets life sentence for raping woman at knifepoint
Kaieteur News – Julius Branker, 46, has been sentenced to life in prison for raping a 28-year-old woman at knifepoint.
Julius Branker
Branker was unanimously found guilty last month by a jury. This was his second trial for rape. At his first trial, he was given a sentence of 40 years in jail with a 35-year parole eligibility period by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall. The conviction and sentence were however quashed by the Court of Appeal which ordered that he be granted a retrial.
On February 15, 2014, Branker, a father of three, broke into the woman’s home Lindem in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and sexually penetrated her without her consent. Justice Navindra Singh handed down the sentence on Monday at the Georgetown High Court giving Branker life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The prosecution’s case was that on the day in question, the woman was in her home sleeping when at around 04:00h, she was awakened by noise coming from the television. As a result, she ventured into the living room, switched off the television, and went back to take a nap. Shortly after, she was awakened by a man standing at her bedside, and she began screaming. The man, in demanding that she stays quiet threatened to bore her with a knife.
The individual, who was later identified as Branker, then pushed his hands into the woman’s pajamas and had intercourse with her against her will in full view of her young child. At his initial trial, the court had heard that the victim was struggling to deal with the trauma which flowed from the horrific ordeal. “Honestly, I forgive him but you can’t be hurting women so. I get nightmares, I am always shaking.”
“I remember what happened to me and it is a shame. I don’t know how to have relationships. I feel nasty and I cannot get over it. He needs help and he should turn his life over to Christ,” she expressed.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A lesson from the bread lines of America
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- If the American elections of 2024 delivered any one lesson to the rest of the world, it... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
