A burglar who has a previous conviction for attempted rape was sentenced to three years in prison after he was found standing at a toddler’s bedroom door with his penis in his hands at midnight.

Sebastian John, 54, of Ottley Hall appeared in the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on March 3, where he was sentenced on a charge of burglary with the intent to assault.

He was found guilty that on August 19, 2018 at Ottley Hall, he entered the dwelling house of Eucina Porter as a trespasser with the intent to commit an offence, to wit ‘assault’.

According to the facts, the complainant knows John very well as he is her neighbour.

On the night of August 18, 2018, around 9 :00 p.m Porter had put her three year old grand daughter to sleep in a bedroom. Afterwards, she went into her room which is near to the toddler’s room.

On Sunday, August 19, about 12:45, early morning, she went to check on her grand daughter. When she opened the bedroom door she saw the defendant standing in the room where the child was sleeping. He was half naked and was holding his penis in his right hand.

The lights were also on in the room and Porter shouted to him and said, “Bassy way the f#@* you doing in my house, way you doing here, who invite you?”

John in response said, “O gard! ah sorry, ah sorry! He then left the house; the matter was reported to the police.

Senior magistrate, Rickie Burnett told the defendant “I looked at your last record before the court and it is consistent with penis in hand…, though it was 2009, it tells me something about you.”

He also noted that the High Court had sentenced the defendant to a prison term for attempted rape in 2009.

What were you doing in the woman house sir?…it is a good thing she was awake at that time, she was going to check on her grand daughter, what were you going to do sir, what is wrong with you ?” Burnett asked the defendant.

He also pointed out that the defendant previously spent seven years in prison, and this type of behaviour was not his first.

John said he did not know what was going on with him, noting that he has three children ages 17, 18 and 20. He also said that he is the only support for his children as their mother is diagnosed with cancer.

“I am under a lot of stress and pressure,” he told the court.

Before handing down the sentence, Burnett told the court that what John did was unacceptable.

“Persons should be allowed to live in their homes in peace and ought not to have an adult male burglarise their homes and being found with his penis in his hand and a lady is in the house and a child.”

He added “Those are very aggravating, because it is clear what you were going to do.”

In keeping with the sentencing guidelines Burnett turned his mind to the harm and seriousness of the offence. This brought him to a starting point of two years and six months in prison.

When he considered the aggravating factors he said that the offence was committed in the night, and the defendant was found at the child’s bedroom door which was very aggravating.

The senior magistrate found no mitigating factors of the offence and as a result, four months were added to the sentence.

Aggravating of the offender were that he had previous convictions namely, burglary, and attempted rape. Though these were committed a long time ago, it moved the sentence up to three years.
John who had pleaded not guilty to the charge, was on bail since 2018, and he will now serve three years in prison after he was found guilty of the offence.