A West Bay father (45) who sexually molested his 8 year old daughter and received only a nine month jail sentence from Cayman’s Chief Magistrate, Nova Hall, has had the nine months doubled to 18 after appeal.

The offender actually only served six months in jail and although the sentence has been increased he will not spend any more time incarcerated.

Cayman’s Chief Justice, Anthony Smellie, said the additional nine months would be suspended for two years, along with the remaining suspended time of three months.

The Chief Justice also said the suspended time would begin from 13^th December, the date the offender was released from Northward prison.

Cayman’s top judge gave various reasons for his decision to suspend the sentence that included if he was to send the man back to prison it would be “tantamount to double jeopardy”. The offender had already served his sentence and had complied with all orders so far relating to his conviction. Chief Justice Smellie also took into account the man’s guilty plea.

The offender still has to carry on with psychological counselling and if he should re-offend during the two year sentence he will have to complete the full new sentence.

The man’s daughter pleaded before the appeal was heard not to send her father back to prison even blaming herself for the abuse.

The chief judge said, “She is clearly prone to blaming herself if he is further imprisoned for offences committed against her. In the particular circumstances of this case, it must be accepted that these are powerful factors influencing the decision on the appropriate period of incarceration.”

In allowing the crown’s appeal he said the original sentence was “unduly lenient” and the chief magistrate had failed to fully consider all of the aggravating factors.

He pointed out it was a difficult case with many mitigating circumstances. However, he found the chief magistrate had mitigated the sentence in favour of the victim as much as the offender.