A victim who was brutally raped by a police officer inside a station when she was just 17 years, yesterday criticised the sentence imposed on the now retired officer.
The victim said no amount no amount of justice could take away the trauma of being brutally by the man, whom she said took her virginity in the police station, adding the 17-year sentence was too lenient.
“He should have gotten more,” said the young woman, as she broke down in tears in the corridor of the San Fernando Supreme Court shortly after 65-year-old Harry Ramlochan was sentenced.
Ramlochan, who was a court prosecutor in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court at the time of the incident, did not show any reaction after he was sentenced, but nodded to his relatives as he was led out the courtroom by police officers.
A grandfather of five, Ramlochan was out on bail in this matter until he was found guilty by a jury on June 12 and remanded into custody to await sentencing. Ramlochan, who was represented by attorneys Kevin Ratiram and Chris Ramlal, denied raping the victim.
In passing sentence yesterday in the Second Assizes, Justice Althea Alexis-Windsor said Ramlochan was a police officer and a court prosecutor who represented the state every day in the magistrates’ court. The girl and her mother had gone to the station on May 5, 2001, to report that her father had beaten her mother.
Recalling the evidence, the judge said Ramlochan, then 50 years old, forced himself on the teenager in the court prosecutor’s office while cursing her about her virginity.
“The prisoner appeared to be entirely unrepentant and was laughing,” Alexis-Windsor said, adding that he then took the girl and her mother home. Instead of dealing with the domestic violence report, the judge said Ramlochan then accompanied the father to a bar for a drink.
Noting that the offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, the judge said, “The prisoner
was a police officer, an acting sergeant, a court prosecutor, his job was to protect and serve members of society and he, by this finding of guilt, has acted in such such a way that has contributed to a loss of
confidence by society in the police service.”
She said people must feel they could go to a police station and leave intact.
The evidence, led by State attorneys Sarah de Silva and Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal, revealed that at the station the girl’s mother spoke with Ramlochan, who asked to speak with her daughter alone. He took her to the dormitory where he tried to kiss and hug her.
She testified that Ramlochan took her to a nearby bar to get change for a $100, but he did not get
any. She said he then stopped a taxi and they went by a street vendor who changed the money.
On their return to the station, she said he told her mother he wanted to speak to her further and took
her to the police canteen. She said he bought her a soft drink, then took a drink of scotch from some officers and offered her a drink, but she refused. The victim said he then took her to the court prosecutor’s office where he offered her money, but she refused and got up to leave. However, she said he got upset, closed the door, pushed her against a cabinet and forcibly kissed her and bit her lips. The woman said she tried to get away, but he pushed her against a wall, pulled down her pants and underwear and then pushed her on a piece of sponge on the ground where he raped her.
In determining sentence, the judge said the sentence also has to serve as a deterrent to others wishing to engage in this conduct. She started the sentence at 15 years, but after considering the aggravating and
mitigating factors in relation to Ramlochan, she increased it by two years.
Victim — ‘Pain will never go away’
Overcome with emotion, the young woman said the trial just caused her to relive the rape and the trauma she went through all those years ago. She felt she had to wait too long for justice.
Crying through the brief interview, the woman said, “Although I get justice, the pain, the hurt will never go away until I die. No matter how much justice I get that will not heal my wounds.”
Disappointed with the sentence, she said, “I was young and innocent. I did not know anything about life and that really mess me up bad.
“I wanted to wait until I get married. I was baptised and grew up in a Christian home. It is the worst thing to happen to anybody, male or female. I get flashbacks and nightmares.”
She said she was ridiculed and laughed at by her schoolmates after the incident.
“I would hide in the toilet. I would not mingle. I failed all my exams. I still do not trust anyone.”
She said went to a police station once after the incident, but she felt very afraid. She, however, is hoping that she could now move on with her life.
Also expressing disappointment with the sentence, her father said, “He should ah get life. Her mother died 12 years ago. She grieve to death. On her death bed she tell me to make sure our daughter get justice.”
