2 child-rapists move to COA seeking to overturn convictions, jailtime

The Court of Appeal (CoA) in Kingston, Georgetown is gearing up to hear arguments in two separate child rape cases this month. The convicts in both of these matters are men seeking to overturn their convictions and lengthy jail sentences.

On Wednesday, February 22, the Appellate Court will commence hearing arguments from Mark Campbell, who is currently serving life sentences for raping a boy on two separate occasions. In his Notice of Appeal, Campbell is asking the Appellate Court to reverse and/or set aside the jury’s verdict, and for his sentences to be quashed and set aside.
Following a trial at the Demerara High Court in October 2017, a jury had found that Campbell had twice engaged in sexual penetration of the boy: during September 2011, when the boy was six years old, and again on July 10, 2013, when he had turned eight years old.
After the jury had returned its verdict, Campbell, who had been unrepresented by counsel throughout his trial, begged the court for mercy, claiming that he did not have a fair trial.
“Since the day I enter this court and see how everything was going, I knew I couldn’t get a fair trial,” he had said, adding that his family did not assist him with retaining a lawyer. He had expressed that it was “very hard to know” that he had been convicted of something he did not do.
Responding to Campbell’s comments, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall had said the court was not inclined to show him mercy, given that he had violated the boy in the “worst possible way”, and did not even show “one ounce of love” to him when he, Campbell, testified. “It was as if you were talking to a stranger. This court must send a strong message to others who may want to carry out such acts,” the Judge had noted.

Justice Morris-Ramlall had sentenced Campbell to life imprisonment on each of the two counts; had ordered that the prison terms be served concurrently; and had ordered that Campbell becomes eligible for parole only after serving 30 years.
In August 2018, Campbell had appeared before Demerara High Court Judge Priya Sewnarine-Beharry to answer a charge of a similar offence. That time, however, he had forgone his right to a trial and had pleaded guilty to sexually penetrating a five-year-old boy on April 16, 2013.
Justice Sewnarine-Beharry had similarly imposed a life sentence on him, and had ordered that he was not to be considered eligible for parole until after serving 30 years. In sentencing the sex offender, Justice Sewnarine-Beharry had considered these aggravating factors: that Campbell had abused a position of trust, as he was left to take care of the young boy; and the physical, psychological, and emotional trauma the act must have had on the little boy. The Judge had also considered the serious nature of the offence, but had stated that Campbell, with his early guilty plea, had saved the victim the trauma of having to come and testify.
On February 28, Omadat Persaud’s lawyer will present arguments in a bid to convince the CoA to overturn his client’s 45-year jail sentence for engaging in sexual activity with a child family member. Persaud has been found guilty of sexually penetrating this child between August 1 and 31, 2015, when the child was only five years old.
The jury had returned the unanimous guilty verdict after a little more than two hours of deliberation, and the sentence was imposed by Justice Morris-Ramlall who, in sentencing the convict, had taken into consideration the nature of the acts; the fact that they involved a child relative; that penetration was involved; that Persaud had breached a position of trust; the prevalence of sexual offences; and the public’s concern over such acts.
The Judge has ordered that Persaud, who has proclaimed his innocence, must serve 35 years of his 45-year sentence before he is eligible for parole. (G1)