‘An appropriate sentence’

“It is horrifying what was done to the complainant in this matter and persons who act in this inhumane way must prepare themselves for significant periods of imprisonment.”

Justice Carolyn Tie-Powell did not mince her words as she issued the warning, after slapping Matthew Hyde with a 15-year and seven-month prison sentence.

The judge, in arriving at the sentence on one of the counts for causing grievous bodily harm, indicated that she had the option of imposing a life sentence but that the incident, although horrifying and cruel, was not the worst of the worst. Consequently, she opted for a determinate sentence of almost 16 years.

Consequently, the 22-year-old University of the West Indies student, who had been in custody since last year February after holding his ex-girlfriend captive in his dorm room for three days and torturing and assaulting her, will only serve 13 years and nine months as one year and 10 months was deducted for time spent.

The second-year biochemistry major was also sentenced to 14 years on three additional counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent; five years and nine months for malicious communication; one year and nine months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one year and 10 months for false imprisonment. The sentences will run concurrently.

The judge, in calculating the sentences, deducted time spent of one year and 10 months from each sentence and also gave Hyde a 15 per cent discount for his early plea. She also ordered that Hyde be provided with targeted treatment by the prison psychologist during his incarceration and that the underlined cause behind his behaviour be addressed.

The judge also told Hyde, who wore a blank expression, that she hoped there will be some form of reformation on his part.

“You are young and you have the capacity to reform if you so choose. It is unfortunate that this must take place within the confines of prison, but I am satisfied that it must,” she said.

To the complainant, who joined the proceedings via video link and listened with tears streaming down her face, Tie-Powell encouraged her not to let the incident, as horrific as it was, define who she is.

“Healing is a journey and it is one you have to embark on and in so doing you have to be gentle to yourself but at the end of the day you must rise, you simply must,” she said.

Hyde, who pleaded guilty in September, had not only used an electric iron to sear the complainant on both her bottom cheeks, her two breasts and in between, her nose, lips, forehead, arms, two jaws, and both sides of her back but also kicked her, pulled her by the hair, held her by the throat and beat her with a belt.

He also burned the complainant periodically after ordering her to strip naked and allowing her to take cold showers at intervals. Hyde had also taken pictures and video of the complainant in the nude, posted it on his WhatsApp status and also shared the nude photograph with a friend.

Hyde’s action was triggered after he went into the complainant’s iPad and saw a video and picture which led to him accusing her of cheating.

The court heard that, during the ordeal, Hyde jeered the complainant and that he held her by the throat until she was unable to breathe.

While questioning her he would slap her in the face when she took too long to answer and threatened to burn her in the face if she did not remember when she had gone on dates.

Hyde, after ordering the complainant to take a cold shower after the first set of burns, told her that he believed a “thank you was in order” and, after burning her multiple times, said, “Let me appraise my artwork.”

According to the judge she had not come across another case of branding or torture such as this one.

Noting that Hyde was brutal and deliberate in his heinous action, the judge said she was satisfied that the sentence fit the crime, circumstances and the offender.

“The court is of the view that the sentence imposed is proportionate to the seriousness of the offence, having taken into account the accused’s culpability and the harm caused to the victim,” the judge said.

“Deliberately burning someone with a clothes iron and having had the victim strip herself naked entails a significant level of cruelty, callousness and brutality, coupled with excruciating pain association, justified a higher starting point,” he added while deliberating.

The judge, in arriving at the sentence, took into consideration aggravating factors including the prevalence of intimate partner violence; breach of trust; premeditation; burning the complainant with a hot iron over a period of time, stopping to allow her to take a cold shower, the placement of the burns; his remarks during the incident; the physical scar and psychological impact on the complainant; trauma suffered by the complainant and her family as well as the financial toll and hardship experienced by the complainant’s family.

Mitigating features considered included Hyde’s age, his ability to reform, evidenced by his employment and schooling, the $2-million restitution, which the judge indicated did not excuse the crime, his previous good record and his psychiatric treatment.

Hyde’s father, when asked for a comment, while declining said, “There is so much to say but at a later date.” At the same time, his brother said, “We need to breathe,” as they rushed from the courtroom.

Meanwhile, Hyde’s lawyer, Patrick Peterkin, who had earlier recommended a sentence of between three and four years, said he was of the view that the sentence would be far less.

“The discount with respect to the guilty plea was only 15 per cent. I was hoping, given that he pleaded at the first relevant time, that he would have at the very least benefited from a 50 per cent discount,” he said.

Obika Gordon, the lawyer for the complainant, said his client was fairly satisfied with the sentence and that the judge made all the relevant considerations.

“She is relieved that this part of the process is finally over. She believes it was an appropriate sentence having regard to all the circumstances,” he said, noting that his client will be pursuing the civil aspect next year in which she is seeking damages for her pain and suffering.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com