45-year-old Selwyn Lancaster, who was sentenced to 15 years behind bars after being found guilty of raping and fondling a six-year-old girl in 2018, has moved to the Appeal of Court to have his sentence overturned.
The charges against Lancaster stated that on October 8, 2018, he engaged in sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16. The other charge stated that on November 6, 2018, he engaged in sexual activity with a child by touching her vagina.
The 45-year-old man of Linden was found guilty of the offences by a 12 person jury on October 29, 2019, and was sentenced by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, at the Sexual Offenders Court at the High Court to 15 years in prison for the rape of the child and seven years for sexual activity with the child. The judge ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
Lancaster, through his attorneys, Gordon Gilbuys and Yondessa Welcome-Mercurius, are arguing, among other things, that the trial judge misdirected the jurors when she made errors while summing up the evidence.
The sexual offence convict further argues that the trial judge’s summing up was “unbalanced” as it was in favour of the prosecution.
Justice Morris-Ramlall, before passing the sentence on Lancaster, noted the nature of the offence and the circumstances under which it occurred, along with the fact that the child was only six years old at the time and that Lancaster had betrayed her as he was known to her family.
Following the jury’s verdict, the trial judge inquired of Lancaster if he had anything to say. Lancaster had replied: “I really don’t have anything to say.”
The rape survivor, through a Probation Officer, expressed that she still feels sad and gets angry any time she sees Lancaster. She added, “My head hurts. I feel sad because of what he did to me. I don’t trust some people anymore. I want Selwyn to go to jail because of what he did to me.”
