A middle-aged father, from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who reportedly molested his 14-year-old daughter in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) more than two years ago, has been sentenced to three years in prison.
His sentence will run from the time he was first remanded, which was in December 2015.
That means the Vincentian sex offender has less than one year remaining in prison.
According to BVI News, Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards in handing down the sentence on Tuesday said the offender gravely betrayed the trust given to him as a parent.
“The victim will likely need therapeutic intervention for the rest of her life … as a result of this gentleman’s actions,” said Magistrate Richards, adding that the man stole his daughter’s innocence.
She also noted the sex offender’s reported attempt at bribing his daughter with a PlayStation video game so he could molest her.
The man is said to have molested his teenage daughter on multiple occasions. He reportedly touched her while her mother and sibling were at church. The court heard the father also molested her in the mother’s bedroom, among other occasions.
It is reported that he molested the daughter by groping her and inserting his fingers into her vagina.
It is said that after participating in an unrelated sex education class at her school, the daughter told her sibling about the encounter in confidence. However, the sibling subsequently told their mother who then reported it to police.
The father was then arrested and charged with indecent assault.
According to the sex offender’s attorney, the father was interested in ‘bridging the gap’ between him and his daughter.
The father maintained his innocence throughout his trial.
