“No means no” – Judge tells convicted rapist

Andy Jackson Celestine, who pleaded guilty to raping a 19-year-old woman, was sentenced to a six-year combined jail sentence and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service by Justice Birnie Brookes at the High Court of Justice Thursday morning.

Celestine has already spent one year on remand, and will spend an additional one-year-and-a-half in prison. Following that stint in jail, he will serve a three-and-a-half year suspended sentence for five years. During that period, Celestine is expected to complete 200 hours of community service, and if he commits any offense he will be sent back to prison to serve the remainder of the jail sentence.

The rape convict was also ordered to stay away from alcohol consumption, illegal drugs, and travel across the island to speak to young men about his actions, consequences and lessons he has learned.

“If the police even catch you spitting in the wrong place they will have to take you to prison,” Justice Brooks told him.

“There is nothing wrong with being attracted to a female. There is nothing wrong with being intimate with a female but that must be done with consent and if she says yes and your half way there and she says no … break up … No don’t mean yes. No means no,” she cautioned him, after passing sentence.

Celestine was initially due to stand trial on February 1, 2010 on the indictments of rape, indecent assault and buggery, but he decided to change his plea from not guilty to guilty. The charges of indecent assault and buggery were dropped.

A social inquiry was done, and as a result Celestine apologised to his aunt, the victim and her mother during Thursday’s hearing.

In review of the social inquiry, Judge Brooks considered that Celestine came from an unfortunate child background where he was abused. She noticed he maintained employment and had no previous convictions, in addition the persons interviewed spoke well of him.

“In doing what you did you have hurt not only yourself but you have also hurt the victim of your actions and you have also hurt your family,” Judge Brooks told Celestine.

The facts of the case were presented by Director of Public Prosecutions Gene Pestaina on February 1, 2010. On September 27, 2008 about 9 p.m. the accused man was a passenger on a bus which the complainant was travelling on; after she boarded off he followed her and raped her.

The young woman had declined Celestine’s offer to accompany her home. However, he began touching the complainant on her stomach when they arrived near a ravine close to the roadside.

She resisted, but the accused held on to her, and asked her to unbutton her pant or else he would do something to her, the facts stated.

DPP Pestaina said that the complainant felt scared and was trembling.

“Her exact words, ‘He held me by my stomach and lifted me up. He started kissing me. He lifted me up very high. My feet trembled. He said let him take out his belt. He pulled down his pants. By that time he put me to stand again. Then he lift my legs up. He lift up my leg. Then he told me open up, open up. I was afraid,’” the DPP noted.

“I had to open up my legs. He lift up my legs one at a time. I fell to the ground, he lifted me up, opened my legs, pushed his penis in my vagina for a few seconds and he discharged in me. The accused pushed me in the ravine. He pulled down my panties. I was scared. He pushed his penis at the front of my vagina…. He said my parents would never find him because he is going to Antigua and not coming back,” Pestaina explained.

Consequently Celestine blocked her mouth when a vehicle passed by and told her to leave. She told her mother, who made a report to the police.

Pestaina stated that a doctor’s report following the incident proved that the victim had bruises on the wall of her vagina.

According to Judge Brooks, the maximum penalty for the said crime is 25 years. However, according to her, Celestine was supposed to receive a nine-year jail term initially, but this was discounted by 30 percent since he pleaded guilty.

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25 Comments

  1. shykym
    March 2, 2010

    (laugh out loud) listen here i don’t think for a minute this person even realized what they were doing, suppose he had an infection and passed it on to this innocent child good God! all for a quicky, man why didn’t u just jerk off then u wouldn’t be in this mess. You violate the person innocence shame on u, u’re a damn sick perv!

  2. Rolle
    February 27, 2010

    He should get the maximum sentence. Just because he pleaded guilty should not allow him to get a slap on the wrist. What about the victim? In a year he will be back on the street, that’s not even enough time for her to begin to heal. Our legal really ignores the victim and place emphasis on the perpetrators of the crime. This young lady is ruined and the rapist only gets minimum time. Shame, SHame, shame there’s no justice in that. Justice Brookes should be ashamed of himself for allowing this rapist to go unpunished. Why should anyone be suprised if citizens begin to take the law into their own hands?

  3. WILDLIFE
    February 25, 2010

    DO THESE PEOPLE HAVE CHILDERN ,SISTERS ,ANUTS AND FRIENDS DO THEY REALY THINK OF US WOMEN WHO WAS RAPE .

  4. February 23, 2010

    THE JUDGES JUST THERE TO MAKE A BIG SALARY.

  5. Dubiqois
    February 23, 2010

    To: So it is,

    Your comments are callous, and borders on a neolithic mentality. You should crawl back into your cave, and do not come out until your cerveau has evolved.

    Your way of thinking is a threat to the type of humane co-existence we are trying to obtain in the twenty first century. Only a man who is mentally delapidated could say such a vile thing.

  6. CB CUZ
    February 23, 2010

    To the justice system. I do hope that the judge dosent have a daughter becaue this is worse case of rape and punishment that i have heard of . The man raped the girl and because he have a job and his family talked well of his the judge pardons him? well pap bon dieu that judge deserves to be raped himself and then he will see.. community service? what the f___is that for rape. I wonder what the judge will give a murderer? a vacation to the bahamas! that judge needs to disbared

  7. so it is
    February 23, 2010

    As the thing was on the man there now. Those women like to turn man on and when man hard and ready they finding all kind of excuse.

  8. tomahawk
    February 22, 2010

    Those judges are seting DA for a war zone,they keep putting criminals back on the streets to continue their crimes and dont give a damn about the victims,IF THAT WAS MY DAUGHTER, HA HA HA, OOOOOHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

  9. Well...
    February 22, 2010

    Those ridiculous sentences they giving is what incites vigilante justice. If it was me I would be the one facing the judge!

  10. C.I.H
    February 21, 2010

    These Judges are making a mockery of the Justice system. Is it because they are not feeling the pain that these victims are enduring? What a travesty of the system when time and time again criminals are let to go with a pat on their wrist. Dominicans must stand up and say “enough is enough”.

  11. Impacttheworld
    February 20, 2010

    Where is the justice? I am totally flabbergasted by the interpretation of the law by this judge. It appears that justice in Dominica has been on a permanent vacation or asleep for the past couple of years.

    Our judges in Dominica are way too lenient. These are not misdemeanor offenses. Where do these judges get their law degrees? Sitting on a rock under a mango tree? Such a travesty of our judicial system should be frowned upon.

    I am really disappointed with the recent sentences that have been handed down by those whose job it is to interpret and apply the laws in the name of sovereignty. Whatever happened to the “Deterrent Factor” in handing down a sentence. I guess you judges were asleep during that part of the lecture…Remember the lecture, guys? Interpretation of the law and justice 101…I need to gather all of you in a lecture hall, and give you a refresher course.

    Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  12. February 20, 2010

    CHARMER? rightfully so. I feel you, and agree with all you said

  13. February 20, 2010

    HEART OF A WOMAN! i AM A WOMAN, AND THE MOTHER OF 5, IF SOMEONE HAD DONE THAT TO MY DAUGHTER, I WOULD CASTRATE HIM MY SELF IF I COULD. IF IT was MY SON, HE WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR HIS ACTIONS, NO MATTER HOW SEVERE, I WOULD NOT LOVE HIM LESS, BUT HE WOULD PAY, BELIEVE ME. Lets not be partial in wrong doing, that’s why our children behave the way they do. Children should be taught at an early age that, there are consequences for wrong doing.

  14. CHAMER
    February 20, 2010

    excuse my spelling this comment was written in anger and i did not read it over

  15. CHAMER
    February 20, 2010

    i get mad when these judges talk about there bul…. a sentence is supposed to b 25 yrs but a man getting 2and a half yrs and u think that is justic .this is why crime and violence will continue because these judges themselfs need to be sent to prison and through away their key and now we become like the us making excuses for these fools talking about they were abused whill growing up .lets get real no matter how much u were abuse it is by choice one gets involved in criminal actions and when u commite a crime u should pay the time.how will this man not do it again what lesson are we teaching others and what kink of community service will he be doing. lets get real give them man there 25yrs so others will be detered and 25yrs hard labour stup that bullshit and get serious . thats why if a man do that to my child or sister or family and i catch u i will be momentarily insane and u will be wonded for u transgression so that when u see woman u have to run and hide its time for some vigilante justice do wait for those judges to give u justic because they give justic only to the criminals and the victims are the ones being procecuted . they making us pay to take careand feed the same persons who rape our women,kill our children,rob our homes and brutalise us with weapons and their fist when the beat us up.we pay tax so these can get food to eat and while we are woking hard they are relaxing in jail.is that what we call justice?well if its justic then i will give and get my own

    a pistoff brother who understands the pain of the rape sister ,.
    our justice system are raping us and mudering us over and over againg and its time this foolishness stops

  16. Anthony Ismael
    February 19, 2010

    This sentence is simply crazy. This rapist should be in jail for a minimum of ten years hard labor. By hard labor I mean, cleaning the streets, the grounds at P.M.H.S and anywhere else that needs good cleaning and maintenance. I’m deeply sorry that this young woman had to endure such a traumatic experience at the hands of a rapist. If it was my daughter, I would be in jail instead of the accused.

  17. bigmama
    February 19, 2010

    heart of a woman i have been there and i can tell u its very hard jail doh change what happen at all we can only let god deal with it

  18. heart of a woman
    February 19, 2010

    the one thing i always think when i hear these things is that every one is someone else child. if she was my daughter i would die knowing that she had to go thru this ordeal. i would want the harshest possible sentence for that criminal.
    if the criminal was my son i would be sorry for the victim and her family. i would do anything i could to ease their pain. i would be embarrassed at the shame he put me thru. yet i love him so much that i would feel sorry for him. i would like him to have a light sentence. cause he is my son.

    at the end,, i am so confused… i just say this is to be left to god. every person is a parents child

  19. Fool flusher
    February 19, 2010

    This is disgusting the judge himself sounds like a nonce and should not be aloud to be in that positon.
    Dominica is getting worse and leaning more towards sinful society which is goes against that fact it us always teaching high morality .
    the whole thing is a farcical joke really.

  20. poi
    February 19, 2010

    OMG!!!! REAL NONSCENCE!! THE TIME DEFINATLEY DOES NOT FIT THE CRIME! U GUYS SEND THE RAPIST BACK INTO SOCIETY! WHAT A SHAME! TO RAPE MORE WOMEN AND CHILDREN!!

  21. tiyanifan
    February 19, 2010

    i support dvt.tiyani shud be a judge, although evil-in-her trying to mess him up.. they shud give him all these rape cases to deal with. so a person cannot even take a bus home nowadays? its high time they make these sex offenders feel their punishment..less than 2 yrs for an offense that scars a person for life.

  22. Super_D
    February 19, 2010

    I find that judge is something else. She gave Augustine a silly sentence, now she giving yet another man a silly setence. I guess she has no idea how it feels to be raped. I can’t understand why she is soo “easy going”. No ustice in this place….that’s why i don’t blame people who take matters into their own hands.

  23. February 19, 2010

    These people are getting away with murder, With all this rape going on in the island, those found guilty should spend a good long time in jail. I think the punishment is too lenient. Soon people are going to take the law into their own hands. These men need to be castrated, no joke about it. This is very frightening to me, therefore i will take some drastic measures when visiting, cause this is serious

  24. DVT
    February 19, 2010

    Is time we make Teyani a judge… that is flipping nonsense now!!!!

  25. Karkabeff
    February 19, 2010

    Ish carval, you should have gotten 25 yrs , a public whipping with a cat-oh-9, then castrated and sent to sea to bathe right away. NO means NO! That is plain and simple. And, may the spirit of the ancestors be very pleased.

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