Corentyne man to serve life in prison for raping woman at knifepoint

Corentyne resident Dinesh Seepersaud has been sentenced to life in prison after entering a guilty plea to the allegation of raping a woman in November 2020.
The custodial punishment was handed down by Justice Sandil Kissoon at the Berbice High Court on Thursday.

The 42-year-old Seepersaud, called “Quicksilver”, had previously pleaded guilty to this charge, which detailed that between November 20 and 21, 2020, he engaged in sexual penetration of the victim against her will.
He had also admitted taking $42,000 from the woman’s home during a burglary.
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutor Muntaz Ali had presented the victim’s impact statement, which described the anguish she has had to cope with after the horrific ordeal.
“I want justice…I don’t want to see him back. I want him to get a life sentence,” she expressed.

Before sentencing this offender, Justice Kissoon said violent and heinous crimes such as rape are prevalent, and will not be tolerated by the courts. According to the Judge, the court will impose harsh penalties in an effort to deter like-minded offenders.
The Judge noted that this offender has been “steadfast in his refusal to reform or rehabilitate” himself, as he referred to Seepersaud’s prior conviction for break and enter and larceny.
In the circumstances, Seepersaud received for the rape a life sentence with the possibility of being paroled after 14 years, and for the break-and-enter offence, he received five years’ incarceration. The two sentences will, however, run concurrently. He was represented by Attorney-at-Law Surihya Sabsook.
It was reported that the confessed rapist had broken into the woman’s home, and had her endure a terrifying ordeal while threatening to kill her with a knife. He took the money, ransacked her house, and sexually assaulted her before fleeing.