A taxi driver has been sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old girl. The man, Feroz Shakeer, 36, was found guilty last month of raping the minor on December 3, 2015.
Jailed: Feroz Shakeer
The custodial sentence was imposed on Friday by Demerara Sexual Offences Court Judge Priya Sewnarine-Beharry. During the convict’s sentencing hearing, the court heard that ever since the incident, the rape survivor has been having suicidal thoughts and harming herself.
She urged the Judge to imprison the man who ruined her childhood, for the rest of his life.
In her victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor State Counsel Cicelia Corbin, the victim said that seeing Shakeer during the trial brought back a lot of resentment.
“I was angered, my body began shaking because of the fear that he might try to do me something. He raped me when I was a child, only 12 years old. He robbed me of my childhood and turned what could have been a fun childhood with no care in the world, into a nightmare. He ruined my entire life. He took my choice away and I want him to pay,” she wrote in her impact statement. According to her, she does not trust anyone.
After considering the aggravating and mitigating factors, Justice Sewnarine-Beharry imposed a 16-year sentence, ordering that Shakeer, given his youthful age, be exposed to counselling and vocational training so that he can live a productive life when he is released from custody.
It was the prosecution’s case that on December 3, 2015, Shakeer picked up the girl, her cousin, and two other school children from the G3 Mall at Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
After he dropped off the two children, the girl and her cousin were left in the vehicle. But instead of taking the minors home, he drove to an isolated area in Diamond where he raped the victim.
Shakeer was represented by Attorneys-at-Law, George Thomas and Madan Kissoon.
