Teen gets 23-year prison sentence for rape, buggery and murder of 9-y-o girl

A teenage boy who raped, buggered then strangled a nine-year-old girl will have to spend more than 20 years in prison for his crimes.

The boy, who was 13 years old at the time of the "gruesome" 2018 killing in Westmoreland, was given a mandatory life sentence and must serve 23 years and nine months in prison before he is eligible for parole.

He was also sentenced to 18 years in prison for the rape and 10 years for the buggery.

The sentence was imposed on Friday by Justice Courtney Daye in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston.

The teenager was found guilty on July 1 this year of murder, rape and buggery after a trial in the Westmoreland Circuit Court.

He has maintained his innocence, even after his conviction, telling a probation officer that the girl was killed by one of two men who surprised them in bushes.

He claimed the men raped the nine year old then compelled him at gunpoint to have sex with her before one of the men placed his hands around her neck until her feet stopped moving.

However, chief prosecutor, Paula Llewellyn, said this claim was "emphatically" rejected by jurors in the face of overwhelming scientific and other evidence tying the teenager to the crime.

The girl's father collapsed when he discovered the body of his daughter in bushes after she did not return home from school.

Her school uniform and underwear were disturbed and there were signs that she had been raped, Llewellyn disclosed, during the sentencing hearing.

Llewellyn said the injuries to the nine year old's anus were worse than those to her vagina.

"The accused would be aware of the anguish [she] was experiencing through her screams," she said.

The girl's mother, who was in court, leaned on her husband's shoulder and sobbed as Llewellyn gave details of their child's killing.

The father simultaneously used a rag to dry the tears streaming down his face.

Daye called the killing "gruesome" and one that shattered the confidence of the community.

- Livern Barrett

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