Jail for attack on woman

UPDATE

A PORT of Spain magistrate had stern words yesterday for the man who robbed a woman at Gallus Street in Woodbrook two weeks ago, before she sentenced him to 30 months in jail. “A woman or any person should be able to walk any street in TT freely and not have to worry about being attacked by people like you,” Magistrate Cheron Raphael told 18-year-old Peter Hunte yesterday. Hunte returned to the 11th Magistrates’ Court to be sentenced.

Last week he pleaded guilty to robbing Elena Rivers of a gold chain. Rivers was walking on Gallus Street around 3.30 pm with her son, aged two, when she was attacked, pushed to the ground, cuffed in the face and robbed of her chain. The attack was captured on a surveillance camera at Gallus Street. The footage of the incident went viral hours after the robbery, and was shown in court yesterday. Hunte surrendered to police.

After viewing the footage, Raphael said, “What I saw was a helpless woman being slammed against a wall while her two-year-old child looked on.” She said the child could easily have run into the road and been struck by a passing car. Hunte is expected to return to Raphael’s court for sentencing for a similar offence. A probation officer’s report has been ordered in that case and the magistrate told Hunte she did not consider it when she sentenced him for this offence.

In his plea for leniency, Hunte’s attorney Adrian Thompson said his client had surrendered and was willing to pay Rivers’ medical expenses, for both physical and psychological treatment, but was unemployed. Thompson said it was his client’s unemployed status that drove him to commit the act as well as the influence of people older than him.

The police prosecutor told the magistrate that Rivers, who was in court yesterday, was still shaken by the incident and fearful of walking the street, even during the day. He also spoke of possible psychological trauma to her son. After sentencing Rivers, the magistrate encouraged him to seek counselling.

ORIGINAL STORY

A PORT of Spain magistrate on Tuesday sentenced the man who robbed a woman at Gallus Street in Woodbrook two weeks ago, to 30 months in jail.

Magistrate Cheron Raphael imposed the jail term when Hunte returned to the 11th Magistrates Court to be sentenced. Last week he pleaded guilty to robbing Elena Rivers of a gold chain.

Rivers was walking on Gallus Street around 3.30 pm with her son, aged two, when she was attacked, pushed to the ground, cuffed in the face and robbed of her chain.

Hunte was sought by police after he was captured on a surveillance camera at Gallus Street and surrendered to police.

The footage of the incident went viral hours after the robbery.