EBE man jailed 18 years for attempted rape of 4-year-old

Ganesh Lewis of St Lawrence, East Bank Essequibo (EBE), was on Wednesday sentenced to 18 years in prison for the attempted rape of a four-year-old child, following a High Court trial before Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court.

Lewis had faced two charges under the Sexual Offences Act, Chapter 8:03: rape of a child under 16 and attempted rape of a child under 16, contrary to Section 36(a) of the Act. The incident occurred in August 2022 in a shed annexed to his brother’s barbershop.
During the trial, the 44-year-old pleaded not guilty to both charges. The jury later returned a not-guilty verdict on the rape charge but found him guilty on the alternative charge of attempted rape of a child under 16.
During sentencing, the prosecution, led by Christopher Belfield with assistance from Simran Gajraj and Geneva Wills, outlined several aggravating factors. These included the child’s vulnerability, the calculated nature of the offence, the prevalence of sexual offences against children in Guyana and the Caribbean, victim-blaming, Lewis’s lack of remorse, and the profound psychological impact on victims.
Belfield noted that Lewis was 43 at the time of the offence, while the victim was just four years old. “He deliberately exploited the child’s tender age and extreme vulnerability,” Belfield told the court.
The prosecutor emphasised that Lewis had a close relationship with the victim’s family and was considered a trusted family friend.
“To the child, he was known as ‘Uncle Ganesh’, a position of trust that Lewis ultimately betrayed in the most vile and disrespectful manner. He violated not only the sanctity of the victim’s body but also the child’s psychological self and future,” Belfield said.
He further described Lewis’s conduct as “cold, deliberate predation” and stressed that the offence only remained incomplete because Lewis was interrupted mid-act.
“The conduct was a settled sexual intention,” Belfield said, adding that Lewis’s defence, which attempted to shift blame onto the victim and the family, was consistent with behaviour often displayed by perpetrators of sexual offences.
“The impact of sexual offences on children is severe and long-lasting. This is an experience that will be etched in the victim’s mind forever, and all of these consequences flow from the actions of this convicted person, not from any exercise of free will by the victim,” Belfield told the court.
A statement from the now six-year-old victim was read aloud in court. The child recalled the close relationship once shared with Lewis and expressed relief at the sentence.
“Ganesh was like a family to me. He used to come by us and hang out. I feel bad about what happened. I am happy that he has to go to jail because he did something bad to me,” the child said.

Mitigation
In plea of mitigation, attorney Ronald Bostwick outlined Lewis’s personal background, describing him as a quiet community member, a regular churchgoer, single, and without children. Bostwick noted that Lewis had dropped out of primary school due to economic hardship but had supported himself through work as a security guard and electrical repairer.
Addressing the offence, Bostwick said Lewis maintained that the witness’s statement to the police was mistaken and that he had no expression of remorse. He urged the court to consider a sentence that would allow for rehabilitation. “I hope, Your Honour, you can give this man a sentence that would allow him to receive rehabilitation in prison. He is not an old man; he can be rehabilitated,” Bostwick said.

A strong message must be sent.
Acting Chief Justice Singh handed down a starting sentence of 20 years but adjusted it, deducting five years for a favourable probation report and adding three years due to the victim’s youth and Lewis’s lack of remorse. Lewis was ultimately sentenced to 18 years in prison, having never been on remand.
“A strong message must be sent, especially in Guyana, where sexual offences against children appear to be extraordinarily high. Paedophiles and child molesters will be dealt with severely by the courts,” Singh stated.
In addition to the custodial sentence, the court ordered that the Department of Social Services, or any suitable agency providing counselling, continue intervention for the child until such support is deemed no longer necessary.
According to court records, a resident visiting the barbershop, which was closed at the time, observed Lewis in a shed with the child in a compromising position, with both their pants down. When confronted, Lewis left with the child. The child’s family immediately reported the incident, and Lewis was arrested on August 4, 2022.
Lewis claimed in his defence that he had been asleep at home and only approached the barbershop to lift the child off a stool after hearing noises. The prosecution rejected this account, arguing that the barbershop was not within earshot of his home.
Lewis was first charged on January 27, 2023, and following a preliminary inquiry, was committed to stand trial on September 21, 2024. He was represented by Bostwick, while the prosecution team was led by Gajraj, Belfield, and Wills.