Lambeau sexual assault accused sentenced for 11-and-half years

Trinidad and Tobago: The verdict was passed by the court against a man who was accused of the offence of sexual assault on a teenage girl in Lambeau. The accused was taken to the court for a final hearing in the case on Wednesday, 26 July. The judge of the court found the accused guilty of the offence and sentenced him to eleven and a half years of imprisonment.

The case of sexual assault on a teenage girl in Lambeau dates back to the year 2012. The incident was recorded in the locality on 19 November 2012 and was reported to the police afterwards. The victim was reported as a 17-year-old girl at the time of the criminal act against her, who belongs to a resident of Carnbee, Tobago.

The culprit of the Lambeau sexual assault case was named in the reports as Ricardo Reynolds, who was a 36-year-old man at the time of the offence. Ricardo Reynolds was mentioned as a taxi operator by his profession, and he belongs to a resident of Mason Hall. The man was used to drive for private hire rides, which were also taken by the victims on the day.

The case against Ricardo Reynolds was heard in court by Justice Kathy Ann Waterman Latchoo, who sentenced the accused after hearing the arguments of both sides. The culprit was also ordered to report to the Scarborough Police Station every three months to register as a sex offender for eight years, after completing his imprisonment of eleven and a half years.

The judge, during her verdict, ordered to add the name and details of the culprit of sexual assault on the Public Sex Offender website. The registrar of the court was asked to forward the task to the Police Commissioner for publication to execute the task in fourteen days. Before the final verdict of the court, the accused was already convicted by the Tobago jury on Friday, 12 July.

As per the details of the Lambeau sexual assault case, the victim was in the locality of Scarborough with her boyfriend on the day when they hired a taxi, which was operated by the suspect. The girl was at the place after leaving from a function at her aunt’s home. The taxi was taken by the teenage girl to return her home in Carnbee, for which her boyfriend paid forty dollars to the driver, Ricardo Reynolds.

In the complaint registered by the victim, it was said that the driver started talking to her while driving and eventually asked the girl to get involved with him sexually. The victim girl refused his demand, after which the driver changed his route and took her to a beach in Lambeau. In the locality of Lambeau, the mentioned sexual assault took place, which was later informed to the authorities by the victim teenager.

Since the beginning of the case, the taxi driver kept refusing the allegation against him. The accused explained his side in which he mentioned that the idea of getting involved sexually was of the teenager. He said that the girl in the passenger seat on that day asked him to take taxi to the beach. However, the man was found guilty in the case, after which the court passed the final statement.