Man rapes ex-girlfriend in Antigua, sentenced to 17 years of jail

Antigua and Barbuda: A 36-year-old male was sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment for raping his ex-girlfriend back in July 2019.

The reports stated that the assault took place a month after their relationship ended when the accused tricked the female into meeting, saying he had something to give her.

The police said that once the victim entered the male’s rented car, he forced her to surrender her mobile phone and drove her to an empty location in Bendals before assaulting her physically and sexually.

The court said that the man was guilty of this specific incident and charged him in April 2024.

It is to be noted that there has been a surge of sexual assaults in Antigua and Barbuda, with reports of mainly men raping someone they know.

In another incident, a 34-year-old male was recently convicted of raping his 14-year-old cousin and is awaiting to learn his sentence. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed by the officers, was found guilty by a jury in June 2024 after a long trial before Justice Ann-Marie Smith.

This incident also took place back in August 2020 when the victim, who was the accused’s second cousin, was picked up by her father and taken to a relative’s house to spend time with one of her cousins. 

But, after some time, the victim’s father left, and the accused, who was aged 31 at the time and residing in the same home with his spouse, went inside the girl’s room and had sexual intercourse with her during a quick encounter. 

Following this incident, the accused said sorry to the victim, but she made the report after four days. The report was made after her parents confronted her about leaving home and lying to her mother about going out with their father, pushing her to explain that she felt troubled by this incident and felt the need to go out of the house. 

In addition to this, the suspect denied the allegations during the trial and said that he had noticed the young girl was not wearing any underwear and became aroused but left there. The court found him guilty of the crime despite his various claims.