NASSAU, Bahamas, Dec 3, CMC – A High Court judge has sentenced a 48-year-old father to four years in jail after he was found guilty of indecent assault of his 12-year-old daughter more than a decade ago.
Chief counsel T’shura Ambrose had asked Justice Dale Fitzpatrick to impose a sentence in the range of six to eight years due to the breach of trust, saying that the child was only 12 years old when she was violated by her father, and he has shown no remorse for his actions.
She said his daughter is still traumatised by the incident and has nightmares as a result.
But public defender, Dorsey McPhee, suggested a sentence of three years of probation, contending there was “no evidence” of the crime.
But Ambrose argued that the jury had unanimously accepted the evidence of the virtual complainant and Justice Fitzpatrick said a custodial sentence was warranted, even as she acknowledged that he does not deserve the maximum sentence of eight years.
The judge considered that the convict, who is not being named to protect his daughter, was a caregiver for his elderly mother, who has Alzheimers, and the positive remarks in his probation report in arriving at the sentence.
The daughter, who is now 25 years, said that the sexual abuse occurred in late 2012, when she was visiting her father, who still lived with his parents.
She recalled that she was asleep in her father’s room when she awoke to him putting her hand on his private part. She also alleged that her father made her undress while he watched pornography and masturbated until he climaxed
CMC/fg/ir/2025