Judge calls for return of cat-o-nine, sentences rapist to 40 yrs. hard labour
Published: June 23, 2005
A Trinidad High Court judge has called for the return of the cat-o-nine tails to punish rapists, saying that the use of the birch has done little to stem the tide of cases involving sexual offences that are flooding the courts.
Justice Herbert Volney made the call yesterday as he sentenced a taxi driver who kidnapped and raped a female passenger to 20 years in jail plus 15 strokes with the birch.
“I observe that the imposition of strokes with the birch is not deterring the number of rapes. I also observe the prevalence of sexual offence cases that are swamping the courts. Perhaps it is time for the authorities to bring back the cat-o-nine because the birch is not doing the job,” Justice Volney declared.
The judge said women in this country must be able to travel safely, and sent a message to other taxi drivers that “they have no right to fancy making young women their sex slaves”.
Rawle Bekaroo, 29, of Kelly Village, St Helena stood motionless as the nine-member jury returned guilty verdicts for kidnapping, raping and sexually assaulting a then 23-year-old gas station pump attendant.
On the charge of rape, Bekaroo was sentenced to a term of 15 years hard labour and 15 strokes with the birch; five years hard labour for grievous sexual assault to follow the sentence of rape; and 20 years hard labour for kidnapping.
The judge described the victim as “one of the brave few who have had the courage to go through the painful process of living her experience over in court in a judicial system that is slow in bringing about trials.”
Volney told Bekaroo: “You offered your vehicle for hire, plying the route late at night which is not uncommon these days”.
He added that the prisoner was “nothing more than a PH driver with the common knowledge that at that time in the night, registered taxis hardly ply for hire, the reason is because these are dangerous times and therefore the public take a chance, especially the women when they enter these vehicles, they take a chance with their lives.”
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Rape Prevention DVDJustice Volney told the rapist that this was “classic case of a young women who worked at night shift at a gas station seeking to go home on a holiday night to be with her family and you took advantage of her in a most demeaning and debasing fashion.”
The judge also sent a message to prison authorities to bring back the cat-o-nine as it is urgently required to get the message to criminals. He said that ” the birch is not acting as a deterrent to men who are still raping because there is a prevalence of rape cases involving girls under 14, the court system is swamped.”
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