For forcing himself on a 13-year-old girl who attempted suicide three times since the incident eight years ago, Cory Cumberbatch will spend the next seven and a half years in jail.
That was the sentence handed down by Madame Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell when the 36-year-old reappeared before the No. 4 Supreme Court for sentencing Monday morning.
Cumberbatch had previously pleaded guilty to having sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 on November 20, 2013. The court had heard that after he forced himself on the minor in her own home, he made a report to the Holetown Police Station in which he alleged the girl had initiated the sexual intercourse.
In handing down the sentence, Justice Smith-Bovell highlighted the mental challenges which the victim had suffered as a result of the incident. She said a victim impact statement had revealed the complainant sought the help of a psychiatrist and psychologist and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
The girl’s performance at school and social interactions had been affected and she had tried to take her life on three occasions.
“Having considered the facts in this matter, together with your pre-sentencing report and your psychological report, I have formed the opinion that this offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified,” she told Cumberbatch.
Justice Smith-Bovell said while the maximum penalty for the offence was life imprisonment, that was reserved for only the most heinous crimes and for repeat offenders.
In pointing out the aggravating factors of the offence, Justice Smith-Bovell said Cumberbatch had been in a position of trust; he had used force; the girl was just 13 years old and he was 15 years her senior and ought to have known better; the prevalence of these types of offences in society; the fact that the offence was committed in the sanctity of the complainant’s home; the fact he had unprotected sex with the complainant; and the effect the act had on her.
“Only this morning I was reading Barbados TODAY and a report from the Child Care Board and they indicated that the majority of cases that were reported to them for 2020 involved sexual abuse of a minor,” Justice Smith-Bovell said.
“The complainant spoke of her affected mental health, her affected school work, her running away from home, her attempts to commit suicide, her cutting of herself as a way of coping with emotional trauma from the incident. The complainant also spoke of the breakdown of the relationship with her mother, a person who should have been her comforter during this trying, emotional time but who she blamed for bringing the now-convicted man into her life to visit this violation against her.”
Justice Smith-Bovell said it was clear to the court that the complainant was still affected by the crime.
As a result, she said she considered a starting point of 15 years in prison as an appropriate punishment for Cumberbatch.
“Even though expressing remorse, you have not accepted responsibility for your actions…. Eight years after the event you still seek to lay blame on a child for your actions,” the judge said.
“Based on the evidence before the court, the court finds it difficult to accept that you are truly remorseful for the act. You may in fact be remorseful of the fact that you were caught. The court finds your victim-blaming as an aggravating factor for you, the offender.”
She said the mitigating factors were Cumberbatch’s early guilty plea, his clean record, favourable pre-sentencing report and his cooperation with police.
Because of those factors, Justice Smith-Bovell gave him a discount of one year.
Additionally, he received a one-third discount for his early guilty plea, a further 18-month discount for the delay in getting the matter to trial, and the three days he spent on remand were also credited.
“The order of this court is for the offence of sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 you are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of seven years, 309 days. This sentence shall take effect from June 3, 2021, when you were first remanded pending sentencing,” the judge said.
