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Man jailed for six months for harassing family
Kaieteur News- A 33-year-old man, who has allegedly been harassing his family and their business for several years was sentenced to six months in prison on Monday after breaching a protection order.
Walter October, also known as “Buck Man,” appeared before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. He was charged with violating a protection order issued in favour of his father, Hughes October, and stepmother, Abena Rockcliffe. The charges stated that on January 19, 2025, at Lot 116 Regent Street, Georgetown, October contravened the protection order by coming within 200 feet of Rockcliffe. A second charge noted that October also breached the order by approaching his father’s business place, coming within 300 feet of it.
Rockcliffe explained to the court that she had filed the protection order against October on Friday, but he breached it later that day. She recounted, “Sunday afternoon, when I came from the airport, I was lying down, and then I heard he went into the shop again…he was breaking the window to come inside the shop.”
Sentenced to 6 months in prison : Walter October
October’s father testified that taking his son to court and separating him from his seven children was a last resort to protect his business. The couple explained that on multiple occasions, October had ransacked and vandalised their store, even threatening customers to leave the area. Rockcliffe shared, “With this ongoing for several years, we are not getting any customers. So, I told his father it’s either he closes down the business or does something about him (October).”
Despite numerous reports to authorities, October was repeatedly bailed out by his mother, which the couple said made it impossible for them to stop his actions. “Every time the mother would bail him out, but she can’t manage him,” Rockcliffe disclosed. The couple also stated that October verbally abused them and harassed other tenants, claiming he was of unsound mind for his actions. However, October’s father rejected this claim, stating, “It’s not true. He knows what he is doing; he is very intelligent. We took him to Doctor Harry, and the hospital told us there’s nothing wrong with him mentally.”
Frustrated by the ongoing abuse, the couple applied to the court for a protection order, which required October to be removed from their premises. However, he violated the order by returning to their home and shop. During the court proceedings, October initially denied breaching the protection order, claiming he was outside the shop on the pavement. He later admitted to the Magistrate that he had been bathing inside the couple’s yard. Begging for leniency, he said, “Ma’am, I’m begging for leniency. I was bathing in the yard, but I did not go in their business shop.”
After hearing both sides, Magistrate Azore considered October’s guilty plea and sentenced him to six months in prison. She told him, “Protection orders are put in place for specific purposes. We have to take them seriously, or else people will just breach orders as they please. That is not the purpose of why we are here; we are trying to maintain order. If you are not willing to comply with that, then we are going to have to send you to a place where that can happen.” October pleaded again for a lesser sentence, but Magistrate Azore responded, stating that she had already been lenient with him. She reminded him that the maximum penalty for his offence was one year in prison.
(Man jailed for six months for harassing family)
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