NASSAU-A man who started a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl when he was a decade her senior has been jailed for 15 years.
Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson delivered her decision, saying children must be protected from sexual predators.
Walter Gray, now 28, was convicted of two sexual encounters that were initiated by his underage victim when she was 13 and 14.
In the first incident, the then-13-year-old girl performed oral sex on Gray after asking him to. He later had vaginal intercourse with the girl after she asked him to take her virginity.
However, the girl could not give consent to the acts because she was under 16.
According to the evidence, Gray knew the child’s mother and uncle. He often walked her to the shop and was aware of her age.
The child victim testified that Gray had sex with her after she propositioned him.
The girl’s mother reported the incidents to the police.
Gray admitted to having sex with the child when interviewed by the police.
However, he backed away from the admissions at trial, saying that the confession was forced.
Gray claimed that he fell asleep on the sofa and when he woke up the girl had his penis in her mouth.
Justice Grant-Thompson said that unlawful sexual intercourse was rape because there was no consent. She said that Gray ought to have let the girl “complete her childhood” by rejecting her advances.
She said, “You are the adult and should have sought to resist sexual temptation.”
