Six-year prison sentence for woman accused of dousing man with acid

A judge in the St Catherine Circuit Court sentenced a 42-year-old woman to six years’ imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to throwing acid on a man.

Justice Bertram Morrison imposed the sentence on October 21, and said that the attack was adjudged to be unprovoked and premeditated.

“You went to the complainant’s home with the acid, it was as if you wanted to really hurt him. It was a cruel act, and the community report said that you are dangerous and is not wanted there,” Morrison said.

The accused was informed that despite the Criminal Justice Administration Act, which points out that there may be a reduction of the sentence, it is still up to the judge’s discretion. The accused was told that having spent 16 months in jail she benefited from a reduction, or the sentence would’ve been longer.

The facts are that at about 11 a.m. on September 15, 2018, the complainant was at his home in Greater Portmore, St Catherine, when the accused, with whom he shared a relationship, entered the house. She promised to give him something ‘special’, but insisted that he be tied up. The victim agreed to be blindfolded and she coaxed him to lay on his back.

She then poured sulphuric acid in his mouth, which he spat out. The complainant tried to escape, but the accused kept splashing him with acid. He fell and the accused emptied the bottle on his back. He was hospitalised and treated for acid burn.

She was subsequently arrested and charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm .