Rapist loses fight to have conviction overturned

A man who locked his ex-girlfriend in his house and raped her, despite a warning from his father that he could end up in prison, has lost his fight to have his 25 years of imprisonment overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Jermaine Burke, who was sentenced in January 2016 and ordered to serve 20 years in prison before being eligible for parole was, however, successful in getting eight months shaved off his sentence and his pre-parole period, for time spent in custody.

The offender was found guilty of rape in the St Catherine Circuit Court in December 2015, despite his defence that he had consensual sex with the complainant and that she accused him of rape out of jealousy over his new girlfriend.

The incident occurred on July 27, 2013, after Burke ran into the complainant at a party in Sligoville, St Catherine.

According to the complainant’s evidence outlined in the recently published judgment, after the party ended she left for home with her brother and his girlfriend, while Burke tagged behind them. During the walk home, she said after the couple turned off the main road, Burke then drew closer to her and tried to engage her in a conversation, but she brushed him off.

However, she said when she reached Burke’s home, he grabbed and pulled her towards his gate causing her to hit her head on the gate.

According to the complainant, Burke managed to pull her inside his room and closed the door despite her screams and resistance.

While inside the room, Burke used a ratchet knife to cut off her shorts and during a tussle, cut her on her finger.

The complainant said she managed to escape into the bathroom and locked herself inside. She was able to get the attention of Burke’s father during her screams for help. She told him that his son was trying to rape her and showed him her bloody finger.

However, she said Burke broke down the door and, during his conversation with his father, she overheard the father saying, “You can go to prison for this” after enquiring what was happening., Burke, in reply, hurled expletives at him.

The complainant said Burke, who was still armed with the knife, pulled her back inside the room, cut off her blouse, held her down and raped her.

During the ordeal, the complainant said she grabbed his knife and threw it through the window. When he went outside to retrieve it, she barricaded herself inside the house and used her phone to call her father for help.

But Burke, during his defence, claimed that the complainant was accidentally cut while they were fighting after she got upset over things that his girlfriend left behind. He also admitted to cutting the sides of her short but said it was to prevent her from leaving.

He also did not deny that the complainant had spoken to his father, but said she only told him that he had cut her and his father warned him to be careful and questioned why they were always fighting.

DISCREPANCIESIN EVIDENCE

Burke, following his conviction, appealed on grounds including unfair trial and that the sentence was manifestly excessive. But, the appeal was refused on the basis that the learned trial judge gave adequate directions on the main issue of credibility, as well as the inconsistencies and discrepancies in the evidence.

He, however, appealed the Supreme Court judge’s ruling on grounds that the learned trial judge failed to identify for the jury aspects of the evidence that may have given rise to the applicant’s honest belief that the complainant was consenting.

The Court of Appeal judges, in refusing the appeal, found that the trial judge had given the jury adequate and appropriate direction in relation to the inconsistencies and on the issues of consent and honest belief, although there was no merit in the latter.

“We find no fault with the sentence imposed by the learned trial judge, save and except her failure to take into account the time that the applicant spent in custody,” they further added.

Attorney-at-law Kemar Robinson represented Burke.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com