NASSAU- A disgraced doctor has been sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for rape.
Gerald Mark Forbes, was unanimously convicted of the rape of a 20-year-old woman after a trial last September at which he denied any wrongdoing.
Forbes, who fired his lawyer during the penalty phase of his trial, argued that he shouldn’t be jailed for his crime.
By contrast, prosecutors sought a sentence in the range of 15 to 20 years.
The court was told that the 52-year-old raped his victim in the bathroom of the office where she worked on March 9, 2010.
During his testimony, Forbes claimed that the sex was consensual—a claim that was rejected by a jury.
During sentencing submissions, Forbes insisted that the sex was consensual and claimed that he still had “feelings” for his accuser.
In sentencing, Senior Justice Bernard Turner told the former doctor, “Your professional career, Mr Forbes, has been thrown away by yourself. You are the author of your own fate.”
With a one-third deduction for good behavior, Forbes will be freed from prison in eight years.
His sentence takes effect from September 16, 2022, the date of his conviction.
This was not the first time that Forbes has been accused of sexual misconduct.
In 2016, he was tried and acquitted of indecent assault and rape.
In that case, his accuser testified that she applied for a job at Forbes’s clinic. According to her, Forbes said she had undergo a mandatory physical.
Forbes was accused of rubbing the woman’s privates and masturbating while he performed the physical in February 2015.
Weeks later, Forbes was accused of raping the same woman during an abortion.
Forbes claimed that the sex was consensual and was acquitted.
