Manchester Man Jailed 18½ Years for Sexually Assaulting Two Young Relatives

Manchester Man Jailed 18½ Years for Sexual Assault: A Manchester man convicted of sexually assaulting two young female relatives, aged six and eight at the time of the offences, has been sentenced to 18 years and six months in prison and must serve 18 years and four months before becoming eligible for parole.

The man’s identity has been withheld to protect the identities of the child victims.

The offender was found guilty in March following a two-week trial in the Manchester Home Circuit Court of three counts each of grievous sexual assault and sexual touching, along with four counts of sexual intercourse with a person under 16.

He was sentenced on Thursday by Justice Grace Henry McKenzie in the Home Circuit Court. The judge imposed sentences of five years and six months on each sexual touching count and 18 years and six months on each of the remaining counts, with all sentences to run concurrently.

After crediting the six months he had already spent in custody, the court ordered that he serve 18 years and four months before being considered for parole.

In determining the sentence, Justice McKenzie took into account several mitigating factors, including the offender’s previously clean criminal record, positive standing in the community, his age, and the fact that he has a young dependent.

However, the judge found that the aggravating factors significantly outweighed the mitigating circumstances. These included the seriousness and prevalence of the offences, the victims’ young ages, the repeated nature of the abuse, the multiple counts, the fact that some incidents occurred in the offender’s home, and the breach of trust arising from his familial relationship with the children.

Defence attorney Ashford Meikle had urged the court to impose a non-custodial sentence, pointing to his client’s good character and numerous positive references from members of the communities where he had lived.

According to the social inquiry report, several relatives and community members expressed disbelief at the allegations, with some suggesting the case stemmed from family disputes and calling for leniency and rehabilitation. The offender continued to deny the offences, maintaining that he had been falsely accused.

The court heard that the abuse occurred on several occasions between 2018 and 2019 at various locations in Manchester, including the man’s home, the children’s homes, and an abandoned building. Evidence showed that some incidents took place after he collected the children from school or while caring for them on behalf of their parents.

The abuse was reported in March 2019 after one of the victims disclosed to her older sister that she had been molested on multiple occasions. The disclosure was relayed to the children’s parents, who contacted the police, leading to an investigation and the man’s arrest on March 22, 2019.

During the trial, the defendant denied the allegations, claiming the children’s mothers had fabricated the accusations as part of a dispute over a house he had been looking after.

The prosecution was led by Crown counsel Alice-Ann Gabbidon and Nyron Wright on behalf of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

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