Scott “has for many years decided to live outside the criminal law”
The Honourable Judge Roger Chapple
(CMR) Geoff Ryan Scott (23) has been sentenced to two years two months imprisonment for the defilement of a girl under 16 and supplying her with ganja to be followed with a two-year probation order with conditions.
The sentence was handed down by The Honourable Justice Roger Chapple shortly after mid-day Monday as he laid out the brief facts on the case. He shared that in June 2019 Scott “plied her with alcohol and ganja” and had sex with her which he claimed was consensual. He did use a condom.
The judge noted that he would be ignoring suggestions that Scott gave her a date rape or some other drug. He also shared that there was no way of knowing if he plied her with those drugs with a view to having sex with her whilst she was under the influence.
However, he told the social worker that “she had a reputation for having sex with older men and he wanted his shot.”
Judge Chapple indicated that he “knew perfectly well that she was under 16-years-old”. His late guilty plea came 12 days before the trial was set to begin but he was afforded a 20 percent discount for that.
The judge noted that Scott had an extensive criminal history and was partly in jail for breaching existing bail conditions for criminal assault and insulting the modesty of a woman. He also had previous convictions for other offenses over the years. In fact, during the social inquiry report, he shared that he starting engaging in burglaries at the age of 14.
A report from his psychologist Dr. Marc Lockhart indicated he his mental health problems which include anxiety disorder, substance abuse disorder and conduct disorder. The judge found that these issues did not diminish his culpability for the offense.
The family of the victim advocated for rehabilitation instead of a prison sentence. However, the starting point to be considered for category 2(b) is three-years imprisonment.
In mitigation, the victim was eight months shy of her 16th birthday and he did use a condom. The late guilty plea allowed him the benefit of a 20 percent reduction. He would also be given credit for the 359 days already served in prisoin.
The 359 days were not directly attributable to this offense as he had lost his right to bail after breaching his conditions at the time. He was given full credit for time served.
He was given two year imprisonment for the primary offense and two months concurrent sentence for the supply of ganja.
The judge observed that he would be “released in a matter of months” and clearly needs support. There have been indications that he will require ongoing support from the Department of Children and Family Services and as such a two year probation order was also issued.
His probation order also comes with several conditions including he must attend the DCFS offices as and when required, subject himself to regular drug testing, individual or group counselling sessions and have a six month curfew at his home address from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am.
As an aside, when Scott arrived in court with the two prison guards he stared down CMR's reporter and showed his middle finger.
- Fascinated
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