A man, who admitted to raping a French tourist during a home invasion in 2009 after his relative suffered a similar attack, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Nigel Carrington was sentenced by High Court Judge Kathy-Ann Waterman-Latchoo after pleading guilty on Wednesday to 10 charges arising out of the attack.
Carrington was awaiting trial for almost 15 years before he requested a maximum sentence indication (MSI), in which a judge gives the maximum penalty if an accused person pleads guilty and avoids a trial.
In his mitigation plea, Carrington's lawyer noted he was remorseful for his actions and decided to admit to what he did after his relative was gang-raped in the United States in an unrelated incident.
Justice Waterman-Latchoo began with a starting sentence of 21 years for rape and grievous sexual assault and lesser sentences for the other offences, before applying a one-third discount for his guilty plea.
He was left with sentences of 14 years for rape and grievous sexual assault and four years and eight months for the other offences. As the judge ordered that the sentences run concurrently, Carrington would only serve the highest sentence.
He is expected to be released in five years and seven months as the time he spent on remand before pleading guilty was deducted from his sentence.
Carrington was accused of attacking the 27-year-old woman, who was born in Guadeloupe and is a citizen of France, on October 17, 2009.
According to the evidence presented by prosecutor Dylan Martin, the woman, who was a student at the time, came to Trinidad on vacation and was staying in an apartment in St Augustine.
She was sleeping after returning home from a gathering with friends when she was awoken by a loud crashing sound around 1.45 am.
She looked around the house and observed that the window to the second bedroom was open before she saw Carrington leaning against the wall.
Startled by his presence, she screamed and tried to back away but fell in the process.
He allegedly lunged toward her and covered her mouth. He also threatened to kill her if she screamed again.
He forced her into the bedroom where he forced her to perform oral sex on him before raping her.
During the sexual assault, Carrington repeatedly asked: "Yuh feeling good girl."
After he was finished, the man took her credit cards from her wallet and demanded that she write down the PINs for the cards.
He then tied her hands together and her legs to the bed using the cord of her flat iron hair straightener.
He told her not to move and that he would kill her if he did not find her in the same position when he returned.
He returned to the room 15 minutes later before leaving once again.
The woman managed to free herself from the restraints and went to a neighbour's house for assistance.
When police arrived and inspected the apartment, she realised that the intruder had stolen her cellphone, laptop, digital camera, jewellery and handbag.
She later learned that the man had withdrawn $10,000 from her accounts in four tranches.
Carrington was arrested after police reviewed CCTV footage from the ATMs he used to withdraw the money.
A DNA sample was taken from him and it matched semen that was found on the victim's underwear and in a vaginal swab taken when she was medically examined shortly after the attack.
While being interrogated by investigators, Carrington admitted to breaking into the apartment and robbing the woman but refused to answer questions related to her sexual assault.
He was charged with rape, grievous sexual assault, burglary, assault with intent to rob, robbery with aggravation, theft of the bank cards, and for charges of fraudulent use of the bank cards.
Carrington is required to register as a sex offender upon his release and report to police every three months for 12 years. Information on his conviction is to be published on the public sex offender website.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was also represented by Niara Boodan.
