Man in St Vincent given lengthy prison term after forcing woman to run naked in the street

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, CMC – A High Court judge has sentenced a 20-year-old man to a total of 55 years in prison after he was found guilty of robbing a man and a woman in Kingstown, then abducting and raping the woman, and forcing her to run naked in the street.

Justice Rickie Burnett sentenced Bahari Dopwell to 55 years in prison for his December 15, 2019 crimes. 

On the count of rape, the judge noted that the maximum penalty is life imprisonment, a notional sentence of 30 years, but established a starting point of 15 years.

As with all the other offences, the time spent on remand — one year, three months and 10 days — was deducted, leaving a sentence of 12 years, eight months and 20 days.

On the two robbery charges, he was given a prison term of 16 years, eight months and 20 days on each count, while on the charges of abduction and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, he was jailed for one year, eight months and 20 days after all factors had been taken into account.

However, Dopwell will only serve the longest of the sentences, all of which will run concurrently.  

As a result, he will spend 16 years, eight months and 20 days in prison.

Dopwell had pleaded not guilty to one count of rape, two counts of robbery, one count of abduction, one count of buggery and one count of assault causing actual bodily harm.

However, after a trial that ran from June 15 to 26, 2023, Dopwell was found guilty on all counts except the buggery charge.

The court heard that the incidents occurred after 11 p.m. (local time) on December 15, 2019, as the man and woman were returning home from an entertainment spot in the city.

They were approached by a masked Dopwell, armed with what appeared to be gun, demanding that they hand over their possessions. 

The man complied handing over his cell phone and wallet.

The woman refused and Dopwell grabbed her phone from her waistband.  

Dopwell then sexually assaulted the woman and dragged her to an old pan yard.  

The man fled the scene with the intention of getting help from the police.

When Dopwell got to the old pan yard, he ripped off the woman's clothes and raped her while repeatedly threatening to kill her. 

He also sought to engage in other sexual activities, and as the woman struggled, Dopwell slammed her head against a wall.

At some point during the attack, the female grabbed Dopwell's testicles and squeezed them causing him to release his hold on her.

She ran naked to the public road and went to a nearby house and called out for help but no one responded. 

The occupant of a second house responded and telephoned the police.

The occupant also gave her a garbage bag to cover her nakedness.

Meanwhile, the male complainant returned to the pan yard where he confronted Dopwell telling him he had recognised him. 

He also asked Dopwell to return the phones and wallet and Dopwell returned one of the phones and subsequently threw the other on the ground.

Police arrested Dopwell after executing a search warrant and finding some of the woman's clothing, including the underwear she was wearing at the time of the incident, there.

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