Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves has weighed in on the discussion regarding the four-year sentencing of a man for the indecent assault of a child.
Dr Gonsalves, speaking on WEFM99.9’s Issue at Hand Programme over the weekend said everybody is quite right to be appalled that it’s only four years.
He noted on December 14, the GazetteThe prime minister provided information on the subject which states ‘in sentencing for these offences the Chief Justice has issued guidelines and the court must apply the relevant guidelines and sentence accordingly unless to do so would not be in the interest of justice.’
He went on to read, ‘it is only permissible to depart from the guidelines in exceptional circumstances where such departure could be justified.’
Gonsalves said: “Well now surely a departure could have been justified in that case.”
The prime minister went on to observe that the guidelines are not written in stone but made it clear he was not making a criticism of the Magistrate because he was not sitting there and knowing all the facts.
Gonsalves noted that the Attorney General gave a report last Wednesday at Cabinet as to the status of the reform taking place in relation to sexual offences. published through the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, sentencing guidelines and rules for a range of offences.