BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A man, who has been described as the laughing stock in his Cayon community, was given a suspended sentence at the Basseterre High Court yesterday morning (Jul. 8).
Anthony Jeffers, 52, was charged for indecently assaulting a six-year-old girl in Cayon on October 7, 2009.
Jeffers is known for his excessive drinking habit and, with his sentencing, Justice Francis Belle took into consideration a letter from Dr. Kelsick-Hobson who said if he were sent to prison he would die.
The suspended sentence will last for 18 months, and should Jeffers commit a crime during that time he will be jailed for six months.
The conditions of his sentence are also for him to be admitted to the Infirmary and under medical supervision by Dr. Hobson, as well as progress reports being made to his probation officer Wingrove George at least once per month.
“This is to keep you off the street and prevent you from troubling girls. This will be the best thing for you as going to prison is a death sentence.
“I want you to behave yourself, keep off the street and away from alcohol. Hopefully, this would help improve or stabilise you so that you will become closer to ordinary,” Belle said.
Crown Counsel Rhonda Nisbett-Browne told the court that on the day in question, the six-year-old girl was alone playing in the Cayon Hard Court. The accused saw her, approached, pulled down her underwear and squeezed her on her private parts.
The girl told her grandmother of the incident and she confronted Jeffers. She repeated to him what her granddaughter told her and in his response, Jeffers said, “Believe what you want”.
The court was told that that the girl recalled what happened in the presence of the accused, whose response was “Ha”. A report was made by the grandmother at the Cayon police Station and Jeffers was subsequently arrested and charged.
According to a social inquiry report, Jeffers had an unfortunate upbringing; in that his mother had migrated to England while he was still a baby, leaving him with his grandmother.
After his grandmother died while he was still a child, Jeffers had no one to care for him so he turned to smoking and alcohol.
Jeffers, who was born in 1958 and has never known his father, has never been gainfully employed but survives by running errands for the villagers.
He also has previous convictions, including indecent language dating back to 1976, which are said to be all small charges at the magistrate’s court level.
In terms of his schooling, there is no evidence that suggests he has ever attended any learning institution.
His explanation to the court concerning the offence was described as confusing, disjointed and convoluted; it made no sense.
The probation officer stated in his report that Jeffers had committed an offence which was out of his character, because he is seen as someone who is married to the bottle and has been a friend of and helper to the police.
“Anthony is very much incapable of making a proper sentence when talking. Whenever he tries to talk he can only manage to grumble some unclear words.
“He seem to have a real problem processing information, and at times finds himself making answers to what he is not asked,” the report stated.
One of his sureties, Bently Bissette, also spoke on his behalf in court and said that he has known the accused for a number of years.
In the report, Bissette stated that by committing such a serious act, it indicates that Jeffers’ “mind is leaving him”.
Another surety, Richard Isaac, stated in the report that Jeffers is the laughing stock of Cayon and almost everyone heckles and teases him.
He also stated that even the school children would have gone as far as to not only tease but continuously throw stones at him.
Isaac also believes that even though Jeffers had committed a serious offence, he wonders if he was forced to be “a criminal” because of the manner in which the Cayon community treats him.
Justice Belle said it is a tragic situation and he hopes that with Jeffers being away from the environment he is accustomed, it would be of great benefit to him.
