Carson Burton imprisoned for 29 months for indecent assault on minor

The Dominica State Prison will be home to 36-year-old Carson Burton of Sineku for the next 29 months following his guilty plea and sentencing to Indecent Assault of a minor girl.

The father of three was initially charged with Unlawful Sexual Intercourse (USI) and Indecent Assault but during his arraignment on February 13, 2023, Burton pleaded not guilty to the more severe charge of USI.

He did, however, admit culpability to the lesser charge of Indecent Assault and as a result, the first charge was dropped by the prosecution.

The fact of the case is that, in 2018, Burton 31, was in a common-law relationship with the then 12- year-old victim’s aunt and resided nearby at her grandmother’s home.

On October 27, 2018, at about 8:00 PM, the complainant was at home with her six-year-old sister when Burton passed and saw her standing in the doorway.

He struck up a conversation and she led him into her residence. They sat on the edge of the bed, and he offered her some food which she declined. Burton subsequently attempted to kiss her on the lips, but she pulled away and said no.

He then attempted to touch her “private parts” and asked her if he could touch her there but again, she said no.

Enraged, he went to use the bathroom, and upon his return, he continued his advances against the 12-year-old, but she declined his repeated request for a kiss, and he subsequently left the home.

The following day, the victim reported the incident to her parents. Thereafter a report was made to the police and Burton was arrested on October 31, 2018, and admitted his wrongdoings in his statement to the police.

Based on the Social Inquiry Report the now 16-year-old girl revealed, succeeding the incident, she blamed herself and felt insecure. Although she sought counselling and therapeutic intervention, the victim stated this was of little help.

The report further added that the impact the incident has had upon her has been significant as she was forced to change schools, was unable to focus on her studies, and had to repeat a form.

She questions why God allowed this to happen to her as she is traumatized and says the incident will be forever etched in her memory.

Her parents also confirmed the deep long-lasting negative impact the attempted assault has had on their daughter.

In her submission to the court, State attorney Daina Matthew posited, due to the serious psychological harm the incident has caused, this places the case in the high consequence category.

In dealing with the seriousness component of the sentencing guidelines the State attorney describes the situation as an abuse of trust, since the defendant was known to the complainant, and was in a relationship with her aunt.

However, the presiding Judge, His Lordship, Richard Floyd did not argue as he noted, the defendant did not reside with the complainant and did not stand in the position of local parenthesis.

“Mere knowledge of the defendant and being acquainted with him does not rise to the level of a position of trust,” he said.

He did agree that the reference by Matthew to a significant disparity in age of 19 years between the parties is substantial grounds to place the matter into the serious level A, high category.

The State prosecutor further averred in her submissions that the presence of another child during the “assault” should be considered an aggravating factor. But Justice Floyd stated, based on the agreed facts, the specific location of the complainant’s sister is not identified to determine if she saw the attempted assault.

By way of mitigating factors, Matthew pointed to the good character of the defendant and his lack of any criminal record or conviction. Considering the guilty plea of the defendant, and the time served on remand, which is calculated at 15 days, she recommended a sentence of three years, three months, one week, and 13 days as being the appropriate sentence.

However, in her address to the court, defense attorney Dawn Yearwood-Stewart said, based on the facts, Burton only attempted contact, and no threats or violence was made by the defendant towards the complainant.

Further, she submitted, the level of psychological harm described by the complainant cannot possibly be attributed to the facts relating to the charge of indecent assault and cautions the court not to sentence the defendant based upon harm that can only be attributed to the offense which was withdrawn.

In response, Justice Floyd asserted that there is no “ideal” victim of sexual abuse.

“There can be no stereotypical approach taken to how a victim of sexual abuse should behave or react to the offense,” he said, adding, “Every victim of sexual abuse is an individual and must be treated as such, the way one person may react to such trauma differs from how another may respond. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect victims who are sexually assaulted to actually cope and respond in the same manner,” the judge opined.

Defense attorney Yearwood-Stewart accepts that the complainant was under 16 years at the time and that there was a significant age disparity. But submitted by way of mitigating factors, Burton’s good character, his genuine remorse, and attempts on his part to address his behavior.

With a reduction for his guilty plea and time spent on remand, she proposed a sentence of 11 months and 13 days.

Under Section 13:1 (a) of the Sexual Offences Act, a person convicted of Indecent Assault of an induvial under the age of 14, is liable to imprisonment for 10 years.

In crafting this sentence, Justice Floyd relied upon the general provisions of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court sentencing guidelines for Sexual Offences reissued on November 8, 2021.

“This was a crime of sexual violence perpetrated by an adult male on a female child in her own home. A place where children should feel safe and secure,” he voiced.

In reprimanding Burton for his action, His Lordship asserted that the conduct of the adult man resulted in untold grief and misery for the child victim and her family.

“The complainant’s life has been enormously affected, she has been psychologically scarred.”

To establish a starting point for the offense, the first stage considered was the consequence, by assessing the harm caused by the offense.

Justice Floyd alluded to the fact that the complainant was under the age of 16 years, and the Social Inquiry Report confirmation of the serious psychological harm caused. The court, therefore, found the appropriate classification to be consequence category two, high.

In the second stage, the court then considered the seriousness by assessing the culpability of the offender.

Based on the agreed facts of the case, the presiding judge pointed out that there was only attempted contact with the genitals and attempts at kissing the complainant but did accept that 19 years is a significant disparity of age. This led to a finding that the appropriate category of seriousness, is A high.

A starting point of 45% or 54 months was determined.

Having established a starting point of 54 months, the court considered the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offense and adjusted the number upwards or downwards as necessary.

However, Justice Floyd said he found no aggravating or mitigating for the crime, which has not already been considered and implemented.

The sentence, therefore, remained at 54 months.

The court next considered aggravating and mitigating factors pertaining to the offender and adjusted the figure accordingly.

No aggravating factors were found against Burton but mitigating factors that went in his favour were his good character, no previous criminal record, and the Social Inquiry Report confirmation of his genuine remorse displayed.

The sentence is therefore reduced by nine months to 45 months.

For his guilty plea, the 36-year-old was granted a 1/3 reduction as Justice Floyd stated, he saved the complainant from undergoing the rigours of a trial and testifying.

This reduced the sentence by 15 months to 30 months.

At the final stage of the sentence, the court was required to award the defendant full credit for his time spent on remand which amounted to 15 days.

In the end, for the charge of Indecent Assault against a 12-year-old, Carson Burton of Sineku was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 29 months and two weeks.

Recently, 69-year-old Frank Joseph Laurent also of Sineku was sentenced to 24 months in prison for Indecent Assault against an 18-year-old female.