Two men, Derrick Sampson, 22, and Michael Trapp, 21, who were convicted of charges arising out of an incident in which a woman was raped and she and her boyfriend were robbed, were sentenced this morning by Justice John Gonzalez.
Sampson, who was found guilty of rape and two counts of robbery, was sentenced to ten years for each count with the stipulation that the sentences are to run concurrently and that they should take effect from Thursday, July 19, when he was convicted.
Trapp, who was found guilty of abetment to rape and two counts of robbery, was also sentenced to ten years for each count, with the same stipulation that the sentences should run concurrently and that they should take effect from July 19.
Because the sentences are to run concurrently, Sampson and Trapp will only serve 10 years.
The minimum sentence for rape is 8 years and the abetment to rape carries the same penalty as rape.
The minimum sentence for robbery is 10 years.
Sampson and Trapp, who were not represented by an attorney, were given time to obtain witnesses to testify on their behalf before the sentences were passed. But when they appeared today in court, neither of them had any witness to call. They both, however, asked Justice Gonzalez for leniency.
In passing sentence, Justice Gonzalez said he took into consideration their requests for leniency and the fact that they have no previous convictions. He said, however, that he could not impose the minimum sentence for rape and abetment to rape because of how the offences were committed.
The Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl Lyn Branker-Taitt, represented the prosecution.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of May 13, 2006, on a seawall on Marine Parade.
The woman and her boyfriend were robbed at gunpoint and then she was raped by Sampson, while Trapp held a pistol to her head.
(See story, “Armed thugs who turned romance into rape, guilty!!” on page 1 of the Sunday, July 22, 2007, issue #2162 of the Amandala.)