BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FITZROY CHALLENGER of St. Paul’s was on Thursday (Feb. 17) sentenced to serve three years with hard labour at Her Majesty’s Prison for entering a dwelling house with intent to rape.
The court was told that Challenger committed the offence, which carries a five-year penalty, on May 21, 2010 at the St. Paul’s home of Blondina Dickenson.
In her testimony, Dickenson told the court that she lives in a three-bedroom house with four of her seven children, and on the night of the incident she had secured her home and decided to sleep in her children’s room after a quarrel with her boyfriend.
Dickenson said was awaken from her slumber on hearing one of her daughters saying, “Destiny you pushing me off the bed.”
Dickenson said that she sat up in the bed and had observed someone going through the window. She then peered through the window and recognised the intruder to be Challenger.
She told the court that she ran to the front room and looked through the window from where she and saw him run up on the verandah and climbed over the gate.
Dickenson also told the court that she positively identified the intruder as Challenger because the verandah was well lit and she had been observing him for about three to four minutes.
A number of other witnesses also testified, including one of her daughters.
In defence of his actions, the self-represented Challenger said, “I am not a menace to society, we are all human and we’re not perfect.”
The 22-year-old father of one said that he grew up without a father and his mother was not much help to him because she had a drug problem.
He also told the court that despite being a product of such a home, he had tried to better himself.
However, His Lordship Justice Errol Thomas told Challenger that he is not a stranger to the court and that he has a history of convictions including breaking and entering and burglary.
“The fact that you grew up without a father or a mother and was always hungry is not a reason to commit crime, the old adage is crime does not pay,” the judge told him.
The judge said that Challenger was given the name ‘Big Man’ because he had to provide for himself at an early age and that it was clear he was a product of poor parenting.
“These should have been reasons for you to start your life over. The court does not take lightly sending young men to prison. You will spend three years in prison with hard labour…time on remands will be considered,” he said.
