Man found guilty of attempted rape

April 26, 2018 9:43 AM
PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance on Wednesday found it legally and convincingly proven that a 21-year-old man had committed attempted rape.
 
He was also convicted of breaking and entering and of threatening a woman whom he considered to be his girlfriend.
 
For these crimes, Kareem M. Prince was given a prison sentence of 365 days, 259 of which were suspended, on three years’ probation. The Court also imposed a contact ban and outpatient treatment by Mental Health Foundation, as well as 150 hours of community service.
 
The Prosecutor demanded a similar penalty, but with 240 hours of community service.
 
The defendant was not present at the hearing as he is currently in Guyana for medical reasons. His lawyer Safira Ibrahim pleaded for a fully suspended sentence equal to her client’s time already spent in pre-trial detention.
 
Prince was charged with attempted rape, home invasion, breaking and entering, and threat. The Prosecutor found it proven that driven by jealousy, the defendant had entered the house of the woman he considered to be his girlfriend in the night-time hours, after which he had tried to rape her, had threatened her with her life and had taken a WiFi box.
 
The defendant’s lawyer disagreed and claimed the victim had given contradictory statements about the incident. Ibrahim said her client was an “ambitious and hardworking young man who loved the victim very much” and who had missed a father figure in his life.
 
The lawyer denied the attempted rape charges and said her client should be acquitted of this charge for lack of evidence.
 
“According to Prince, he was in a love relationship. … He loved her and would not force her to do anything against her will,” Ibrahim said in stating that sexual assault could “perhaps” be proven, but her client was not charged with this type of crime.
 
She said her client had entered the house by climbing through the bathroom window, “but that’s the only thing he has done.” She also called for acquittal on the home-invasion charges as he had left the premises voluntarily.
 
Breaking and entering could be proven as her client had taken the WiFi box on a whim. “He was angry, frustrated and displeased,” as the woman with whom he had a love relationship was also still involved with her ex-boyfriend.
 
According to the victim, Prince had told her he would “F*** her up” and that she would die with him.
 
“I called her names, I told her if anything happened to me we might end up dying together. … That’s all I said. But, like I said, it was all out of anger,” the defendant stated to the police.
 
The Court found it proven that the defendant had tried to rape the woman while she was sleeping in her bed. Breaking and entering and threatening were also found proven, but the defendant was acquitted of home invasion, as he had not stayed in the house.
 
The Court found the defendant fully accountable, but imposed a lesser sentence considering his personal circumstances and his regrets, as well as the fact that he had no previous run-ins with the law.
 
The Daily Herald

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