A 57-year-old Bahamian man has been sentenced to twelve years in prison for having sex with his 14-year-old grandaughter and taking nude photos of her.
The name of the man and his granddaughter was not revealed so the girl’s identity can be protected.
Excerpts from the granddaughter’s police interviews, that were read in court, revealed disturbing sexual relations between the girl and her grandfather. Such activity is too common in the Bahamas which allegedly has the highest per-capita incest rate in the hemisphere.
The incest took place in December 2008. The nude photos were taken in the summer of 2009.
The young girl told police that her grandfather told her to spread her legs while he touched her vagina and performed oral sex on her.
The man admitted to performing oral sex on the girl, which constitutes incest under Bahamian law. He also admitted to taking nude photos. He said he never forced the girl to do anything, as if that were some kind of defence.
Observers were shocked by the sentence handed down by Supreme Court Justice Jon Isaacs. For the charge of incest, the man was only sentenced to three years in prison. However, for the charge of possessing child pornography he was sentenced to 12 years. Some think it should have been the other way around.
