On Monday September 23^rd High Court Justice Charles Quin sentenced sex offender Jeffery Barnes to a life in prison on each count of:

1. Aggravated Burglary with Intent to Rape
2. Rape 1
3. Rape 2

All three sentences are to run concurrently.

The Defendant was also ordered to enroll in the sex offenders’ treatment programme and the anger management programme at HMPS Northward.

This was Barnes’ second offence and he appeared to be a model student in his previous sex offenders’ programme he took first time around. He even appeared on a Government Information Service produced video that was aired on CITN/Cayman27 where he said he was a ‘changed man’ and was ready to be a good Cayman citizen. Within a few months of his release he committed the heinous rape he was just found guilty of.

Because of the horror of his crime and certain media reports, including ours, of not being complimentary of his actions, a gag order was placed on any reporting of his trial.

Justice Quin in handing down his sentence lifted the gag order.

In giving his judgment in recording a guilty verdict the judge said:

“The Defendant [Jeffery Barnes] continues to deny his guilt and therefore this Court is unable to find any mitigating factors.

“However, the Court does find that there are several very serious aggravating factors:

1. The Defendant broke into the victim’s dwelling place at approximately 3 a.m. on the 20 October 2011;

2. The victim awoke to find the Defendant on top of her, with one hand on her throat and a knife against her windpipe;

3. The apartment was dark and the victim began to fight and the Defendant squeezed her throat a little tighter and told her stop fighting. The victim begged the Defendant to stop and said she was having her period and the Defendant responded that he did not care;

4. The Defendant used his knife to cut off the victim’s clothes;

5. The victim was crying and begged the Defendant not to rape her. The Defendant’s response was that it could have been “six men” and she should stop crying because it could be worse;

6. The Defendant continued and told the victim to act like she was enjoying it, whilst keeping the knife to her neck;

7. The Defendant raped her [edited]

8. The victim told the Defendant that this was the worst fear she ever had;

9. The Defendant placed the knife between the victim’s vagina and anus and told

her that if she tried anything stupid he would cut it out;

10 & 11. [Edited] [Two more rapes took place.]

12. Before she left her apartment the Defendant told the victim to act normal and not tell anyone.

“The victim had just come to the Cayman Islands to use her skills as a baker to work in a local bakery, in order to improve her standard of living. She worked long hours -travelling by public transport in the early mornings to reach to work at 5:30a.m. and working a second shift, which made her arrival time home close to midnight.

“The victim’s words resound through this Court and reflect sadly on these islands:

“I came to the Cayman Islands to make my life better and in coming here my life was ruined’”

Barnes has a history of 19 convictions including violence (10), rape and indecent assault.

Judge Quin said,  “The evidence before this Court demonstrates that the Defendant Jeffrey Barnes is violent, dangerous and likely to offend again if not imprisoned for a very long time. He has committed a repeated rape, with most, if not all, of the aggravating factors listed above. The Defendant is viewed by this Court as a serious risk to women in the Cayman  slands,  and, accordingly, the sentence of imprisonment for life is commensurate punishment, and for the protection of the public.”