Convicted child rapist files appeal

After being convicted of child rape and being handed a 17-year jail sentence, Troy Anderson of Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), has notified the Court of Appeal (CoA) of his intention to pursue the appeal he had previously filed against his conviction and jail time.
On Friday, a prison officer informed the Appellate Court that Anderson, now 43, is going ahead with the matter. As such, the case will be called for a report on October 24. Anderson was found guilty by a jury of the offence of rape of a child under 16 in 2016 and was subsequently sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment by trial Judge Jo Ann Barlow.
It was the prosecution’s case that on March 27, 2013, the victim went to a location to have a seamstress alter her pants. When she arrived, she was greeted by the now-convicted man, who informed her that the seamstress was inside the bedroom.
In order to get to the seamstress’s location, the victim first opened the lower part of the rear door. However, when she went inside, she did not see the seamstress, and she was just about to leave when Anderson entered and shoved her to the bed before fastening the door.
The prosecutor said as the schoolgirl tried to leave the bed, she was once more shoved backward as Anderson undressed and raped her. The youngster made many fruitless attempts to fend off her rapist, but the court heard that even her screams were ineffective, since he was covering her face with a rag.
Anderson gave the girl $1000 after engaging in the sexual act, but she refused it. The young girl did not tell her parents when she got home because she thought they would beat her. But the next day, she started to feel pain and a burning feeling in her vagina, and she also got a temperature.
She was taken to the Linden Hospital on April 7, 2013, where she was visited and examined by a doctor who discovered that she had developed an infection.
In his unsworn statement, Anderson had vehemently denied committing the crime. “What you did kept her hospitalised for too many days. The court finds displeasure in your actions. I have noted from your lawyer…that you are a regular church-goer. I do trust you find God while you are in prison, so when you are released, you are a better person,” Justice Barlow had said to Anderson while reprimanding him.