T&T court sentences terminally ill cancer patient to five years in prison

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC -A High Court judge in Trinidad and Tobago has sentenced a 79-year-old man, who is  suffering from stage four esophageal cancer, to five years in prison after he was convicted of the sexual penetration of a 14-year-old girl in August last year.

Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds, in sentencing Lloyd John Williams, said “the just desert is for him to serve the entirety of the term I have calculated unless death visits upon him soon”.

Williams has also been ordered to register as a sex offender.

Justice Ramsumair-Hinds began with a sentence of 17 years and after several discounts for his guilty plea and other mitigating factors, the convicted man was left with a total of  seven years and two months to serve.

But the judge brought it in line with a maximum sentence indication (MSI), sentencing him to five years.

The judge said that a  non-custodial sentence would not suffice for his “predatorial conduct,” nor would it be expedient to release him on probation.

“He has received substantial benefit from the court because of his circumstances,” she said, adding “the court's duties in sentencing are clear”.

The court heard that after he was arrested in August 2023, Williams confessed to the police and the indictment was filed on April 18.

The judge rebuked him for attempting to suggest his victim manipulated the situation, which led to the offence, adding “the disturbing reality is he was diseased with cancer and old at the time he committed the offence.”

“Neither the disease nor his age discouraged this crime,” the judge said, noting that Williams  is no longer receiving treatment as “there is nothing they can do for him at this stage”.

Justice Ramsumair-Hinds said Williams should report to the police station seven days after he is discharged from prison for registration on the National Sex Offender Register.

He is also to report once every six months for five years with the judge further ordering the Commissioner of Police to publish Williams' name and information on the Public Sex Offender Registry within 14 days of her order.

“May God have mercy on you,” the judge told  Williams.

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