Thirty-six-year-old Peter Daniel, a first-time sex offender of Goodwill, was sentenced to three years imprisonment after pleading guilty to indecent assault on an underage girl.
According to the facts of the case, in the first week of July, 2008 Daniel met the complainant and her father at a bar and sat with them.
The teenage girl’s father left them alone and that was when Daniel committed the act.
According to the virtual complainant’s statement to police, Daniel told her “Tell your father that to see if I wouldn’t burst your head and ring your neck.”
A medical examination indicated that the girl’s hymen was intact.
The state’s prosecution lawyer Wayne Norde’ said in his presentation of the facts that the accused admitted to touching the virtual complainant’s vagina. However, he denied to police that he threatened to “ring her neck.”
“If in case I said that, I just ask for forgiveness,” Daniel told the police in August, 2008.
David Bruney, the accused man’s lawyer, told the court that his client is a first-time offender and had been very cooperative with police.
“My experience with Peter Daniel is that he is not the brightest of people, but also I don’t find him to be the worst of people … he is very kind to his parents … I don’t believe this young man would put himself in a situation like that again,” Bruney pleaded.
He also said he believes his client never threatened the virtual complainant.
Judge Brian Cottle told Daniel he betrayed the trust of the girl’s father.
“This is a young child who is deserving of protection not only from her parents, but from society. You were her father’s friend … you betrayed that trust,” Cottle said upon sentencing Daniel.
The maximum sentence for indecent assault is 10 years.
While Cottle took into account the previously clean rap sheet of the accused, he also considered the need to send a message to such offenders that such behaviour should not be encouraged.
Citizen…wha happen is you dat commit that crime there man? How you know de chile lie? People like you really disgust me, the man had no business touching the person child, period…if it was your child you would be equally disgusted. Some of all you Dominicans just not easy.
the thing i would like to no is why the father of the under age child had he doing in a bar he should be charge for indanger of a minor cause and they should just send the man out with some community service the child lie he did not tell her he will ring no neck as young as they are they a telling lies do u no how many innocent men in jail for that cause a child lie on him the judges need to take a closer look at them things i no thay happen but not all that is said that happen
for a sex offender his sentence is too short. if that was my child i would take the law in my own hands cause i would not be satisfied.
I think he should be given more time for such an act. Bloggers, considering thats the charge was indecent assault which means he touched her in an appropriate place without her conscent. In the past actions like these have gone unnoticed and un reported , hats off to this couragious young lady who challenged this young man and too the appropiate step and wasnt threatened by the convict threats. My only concern is that Dominica is a small community, after the criminal is released then what next? Will he live up to his promise and harm the then 16 year old ?
I think the sentence was fair considering he was a first time offender, never mind that he may have done it before and gotten away; that’s hearsay, not fact!Also he now has a crminal record which precludes him from many benefits in society- how many employers would hire him knowing his record? Cases like this must be looked at on a case by case basis to be fair to all parties concerned.I hope this does not traumatize the young girl , and she gets some form of counseling.
First of all, the legal system in DA is to lenient on criminals. Mister should have gotten the MAXIMUM!
The article sad “Daniel met the complanant and her father at a bar and sat with them. The teenage girl’s father left them alone and that was when Daniel committed the act.”
Why did the father bring his daughter to a bar? Why did he leave his daughter at the bar with an de partner? Some parents need to see that sometimes their action can harm their children.
Dominica needs to take a page from the law books of America. Let all these bastards be registered as sex offenders. Everyone in any community they live needs to know they are sex offenders. People who prey on young children needs to be castrated!!
This is interested indeed. Maybe the father should have cut off his penis or fingers and he would have no more useful limbs for the rest of his life. How about that?
three years for assault thats crazy? he should have gotten the max, he would never do this again.
too lenient, he should have gotten the full sentence, that is how we will avoid raising or habouring criminals
This was a fair judgment for a 1st time offender, the question that would alter my opinion is what is the age of the girl?
3 yrs for that offense is not bad but i just hope that those that go futher and rape these children and women and even boys will get a kool 25yrs up when such cases comes befor the courts
Actually Dominica is very tough on criminals, imprisonment rate is actually like 5 times higher than those in European criminal systems (and even in that particular case man wouldn’t be actually locked up, he would just need to spend nights in jail). No wonder Dominica is in world TOP10 list on World Prison population. Long prison sentences aren’t reducing criminal rates or deter crime – they are just waste of resources which could be better used for education or health.
Three years for such offence is insufficient.
Judge Cottle should reverse his advise by:
“Considering the need to send a message to such offenders that such
behaviour should be encouraged.
why am i not suprised? The victim has to live with that the rest of her life…….
Why is the system so soft on criminals. Three years is not enough for a crime like that. Daniel’s lawyer is saying he Daniel is a first time offender and that he is kind to his parents. That’s no ground for giving this offender a short prison term. Some of the worse criminals have children and family who they treat well. A criminal act is first and foremost, a criminal act.
Daniel is a …, “but he is a good family-loving ..”
therefore he is not as bad as the other ones.
That is a very lame argument. Shame on that legal system.
Also because this is the first time that this man has been caught, that does not mean it is his first offense. He could have attacked women and young girls before and got away with it.
The young girl’s parents should pursue the case further through a private prosecution to gain a much longer prison term because three years is not enough.
After the three years what then, he will be let out to possibly continue.. young girls?
This sentence is too lenient! It’s time that the punishment for sex offenders be more severe than we’ve seen here in Dominica for a long time. Send a strong, clear message to all those “AVYOLEER”!
that was a fear sentence judge cottle and i hope to god the rest of sex offenders out there take note