Convicted child rapist Omadat Persaud on Thursday had his jail-time of 45 years reduced to 25 years by the Court of Appeal.
In January 2018, Persaud had been found guilty of sexually penetrating a 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 Simone 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 had ordered that Persaud, who has proclaimed his innocence, must serve 35 years of his 45-year sentence before he was eligible for parole.
Justice Morris-Ramlall, at the sentencing, had explained that she did not impose on the convict life imprisonment — the maximum penalty — because he had been ill-advised.
Justice Morris-Ramlall had also noted that Persaud had displayed a “lack of remorse” and disregard for the jury’s verdict.
“Perhaps you were ill-advised; you are not being sentenced to life imprisonment, on the conduct of your counsel,” the judge had said.
Persaud’s lawyer then filed an appeal 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.
