by Linda Straker
- Senate President urges private Members Bill against sexual crimes
- No sanction against judicial officer for failing to administer justice in 2019
- Matter currently before OECS Court of Appeal
Senate President Chester Humphrey has suggested to members of the Upper House of Parliament that they can take the lead to see changes in the law against people who commit sexual crimes against minors.
“You don’t have to wait on the Government. You members can bring a private Members Bill. There has been no sanction against that judicial officer for failing so blatantly in administering justice as is necessary,” Humphrey said in his closing remarks for the 2022 budget debate.
Referring to the outcome of a matter that occurred in 2019 involving Treverson Roberts who was fined $1,500 in a Magistrate’s Court after pleading guilty to indecent assault of a 5-year-old, Humphrey said that a sentence like that can result in other families engaging in jungle law when their children become victims of such offences.
“When these kinds of things happen it promotes the law of the jungle because it can lead citizens to believe I am not waiting on the court for justice, I will take justice in my own hands, when judicial officers behave that way,” Humphrey said. “This is not a case where there is some technicality and you could not determine where the truth was. The accused pleaded guilty and yet was allowed to walk free.” Humphrey reminded lawmakers about actions that were taken to criminals in the colonial era.
“In the old colonial days justice was swift and precise. He would have been cat o’nine-tailed. I know there is a call now not to cat o’nine people, but in the old days, justice was swift, precise and known. It’s my personal view that this kind of justice was what was needed for that kind of crime,” said an emotional Humphrey.
“I am calling on you law officers, you don’t have to wait on the Government. You can act by bringing a private Members Bill to ensure that when it comes to sexual crimes, that the system is not biased. The judicial system has a history of leniency when it comes to such crimes and it’s happening more and more and more in our society,” he said.
Besides the fine, which was awarded to the state, Roberts was also ordered to give the family of the child $600 as compensation for medical expenses. The maximum sentence for the charge of indecent assault in Grenada is 5 years imprisonment.
Following the sentence, the police appealed the leniency of the sentence, and the matter is currently before the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Court of Appeal.
We had a chance to revise and rectify this with the “referendum”. We were mislead about the contents of the referendum and voted to not pass it.
I don’t know enough about the laws and courts system in Grenada. I happened to be visiting Grenada at the time of the reported incident and court sentencing and could not help being embarrassed of someone being fined for committing such indecent sexual act on a child.
It would appear that it had to take a NY court to administer justice for the child in question and his family. If the magistrate who fined the culprit has any sense of common decency he or she would resign with with immediate effect. Frankly, they are not fit to hold office.
Grenada is going backwards with regards to this sort of crime and we need to protect our young children.
There are too many cases of these crime getting swept under the carpet in the eyes of the law.