A police sergeant convicted for raping a 16-year-old girl in 2019 was sentenced to 19 years and three months in prison by a Supreme Court Judge in the Home Circuit Court on Friday, September 22, 2023.
The Court found Sergeant Christopher Bennett guilty in July 2023. He was attached to the Denham Town Police Station in West Kingston when the incident occurred.
Bennett was the head of the Denham Town Community Safety and Security Branch, and his team members were counseling the complainant when the incident happened.
The 37-year-old husband, who had served the police force for 15 years, struggled to stand after the judge announced the sentence.
During the trial, the Court heard evidence that on June 17, 2019, the policeman offered the complainant a ride from the station and took her to the Palisadoes main road in East Kingston, where he sexually assaulted her.
The victim reported the matter to the police, and the police arrested and charged Bennett after an investigation.
Before he handed down the sentence, Justice Leighton Pusey highlighted that Bennett failed in his mandate to serve and protect and breached the victim’s trust.
After the sentencing, Bennett’s attorney, King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie, applied for bail pending appeal, but the judge denied the application.