“Sexual assaults upon young children must be severely punished and those who engage in this evil conduct should expect to go to prison for a long period of time, not only to punish them, but also to deter other like-minded individuals,” Justice Pamela Beckles declared yesterday.

“Parliament, in fixing the maximum penalty of life imprisonment for such offences, clearly had this in mind as the laws are designed to protect young and vulnerable children.

“There is a high probability that the sexual activity which constitute this crime will have a significant and long-lasting adverse impact upon this child,” she said, adding the crime occurred when the complainant was at an important stage in her emotional, sexual and psychological development.

“This is a very serious crime and there is a clear need to denounce your conduct and impose punishment which will act as a deterrent, not only to you but also to others,” Justice Beckles stated.

Marshall, of Rock Hall, St Philip, was found guilty, in the No. 5 Supreme Court, of having sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 – eight years old – and who was not his spouse between May 1 and June 30, 2019.

Apologised

He was represented by attorneys Dennis Headley and Shenelle Wharton, while Principal State Counsel Kevin Forde and State Counsel Maya Kellman prosecuted the matter.

“All I have to say is I apologise for this case coming at me. Even though I feel 100 per cent innocent, I accept the consequences,” Marshall told the court.

He said his time on remand at Dodds Prison had “given him a new outlook on life”.

“It made me closer to God and I give thanks for that more than anything in the world,” he said He apologised to the girl’s family “that put me under this case”, adding he had done good “to the people that got me here”.

“But sometimes life gets strange,” he said.

Justice Beckles then told the sexual offender she had considered his pre-sentencing report and the submissions from the attorneys, along with the nature and gravity of the offences; the prevalence of such offences, as well as the age of the victim.

Effect on child

Justice Beckles said she had also considered the effect the offence had on the child, as well as that the girl was exposed to sexually transmitted diseases.

As a result, said the judge, 15 years was the appropriate starting point for the sentence.

The judge further said she had also considered the delay in the matter – which could not be attributed to Marshall- and his very late apology.

She deducted one year for the mitigating features.

Justice Beckles ordered Marshall to serve 14 years minus the 221 days he had spent on remand.

The court had heard from the now 13-year-old sister of the victim who said she peeped through a hole in the door and saw Marshall “between” her sister’s legs.

The teenaged witness said she was in the garden with her siblings when her sister went inside Marshall’s house. She knew him as Gad Man, she said.

She said she became curious and went inside as well.

“I witnessed Gad Man with my sister on the bed in his house. I saw my sister’s legs open and Gad Man was between them,” the witness said.

She said the accused had on his shirt but no pants or underwear.

The witness testified she called her brother, who was still in the garden, to also peep through the hole in the door.

“My brother then shouted and he said ‘You, what you doing’. Gad Man then moved. He got up off the bed,” she said.

It was then, the witness said, that she could see her sister was not wearing any pants or underwear.

From the dock Marshall said the girl’s father made her fabricate the story because he was having sex with the father’s wife.

“This is how this whole thing started. [The father] found out that me and [the woman] were having sex. [The woman] was pregnant all along,” he read.

Pregnancy talk

“[The woman] gave me and the people in the district the impression that she was pregnant for me. [The girl’s father] became angry about this and he stopped speaking to me. [The complainant] did not take off any of her clothes or anything like that.

“I did not take off my clothes in front of [the complainant]. I was not with [the complainant] alone,” he said.

“I never once think about raping somebody,” he had said.