A gender justice advocate has expressed disappointment over a convicted rapist being given a two-year reduction in his sentence, after making a $15,000 donation to the Rape Crisis Society of T&T donation based on a directive from his victim.
In a statement yesterday, Marcus Kissoon suggested that Mark Calvahal’s donation could not serve as a substitute for true accountability for the crime he committed.
“True accountability requires that the perpetrator acknowledges the harm caused to the victim and that justice is served through appropriate legal and societal means,” Kissoon said.
“The act of offering money cannot undo the trauma and violence inflicted, nor does it address the systemic issues that allow sexual violence to continue unchecked.”
Kissoon accepted that judicial officers have a delicate task in balancing the need to hold perpetrators accountable and ensuring that the voices of victims are considered.
“Reducing a perpetrator’s sentence based on a superficial act, such as donating money, undermines the victim’s experience and the seriousness of the crime,” he said.
“It signals that the consequences for sexual assault can be mitigated through gestures that do not meaningfully address the trauma or offer justice to the survivor,” he added.
Contacted yesterday, the Rape Crisis Society’s director Marian Taylor said her organisation would be issuing a release on the issue. However, none was issued up to late yesterday.
Calvahal was convicted at the end of his judge-alone trial earlier this month, and was on Thursday sentenced by High Court Kathy-Ann Waterman-Latchoo to a little under seven years in prison.
Justice Waterman-Latchoo began with a starting point of 12 years before reducing it by two years because of Calvahal’s donation.
Calvahal had initially offered to pay compensation to the victim but she refused to accept it and asked that it be donated to the NGO, which provides professional counselling to victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
Justice Waterman-Latchoo gave a further two-year discount, as Calvahal had a clean criminal record before being charged in 2012. He was also given a one-year discount as his son, who he is the guardian of, has a serious medical condition.
After deducting the two weeks he spent in prison after being convicted, Calvahal was left with a sentence of six years, 11 months, and two weeks.
As part of his sentence, Calvahal was ordered to report to the Maraval Police Station to register as a sex offender within seven days of his eventual release. After the initial registration, he is to report to the police every three months for six years.
Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher was also directed to publish information relative to his conviction on the public sex offender website.
Calvahal, 44, was accused of attacking the woman, who was a fellow tenant at the apartment building he lived at, on October 5, 2012.
According to the evidence, presented by State prosecutor Dylan Martin, after the woman returned home from work, Calvahal reportedly went to her apartment to discuss some items she had purchased from one of his friends. The woman told him his friend had delivered items she did not order and he insisted they go to the friend’s home to have the items exchanged.
After completing the transaction, Calvahal told the woman he wanted to show her a spring in Maraval. He drove to a dark and desolate area where he claimed the spring was located.
When the woman got out of the car and did not see the spring, she demanded he take her back home. He refused and raped her in the car. After being dropped off, the victim reported the attack to the police and was medically examined.
Calvahal was charged after blood from a cut the victim sustained in the attack was found on his car seat and was tested by a forensic analyst.
After Martin finished presenting the State’s case, Calvahal testified in his defence and denied any wrongdoing, as he claimed that she consented.
His friend, who the victim purchased the items from, also testified.
Prosecutor Niara Boodan appeared alongside Martin for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
