A 43-year-old man was found guilty of incest on Monday after allegedly forcing his teenage daughter to have sex with him in 2015. The jury reached a verdict of eight to one.
The father, who is from the territory, is not being named to protect the identity of his daughter.
The court heard that on Dec. 15, 2015, the daughter, then 15, arrived to Tortola from a sister island for an upcoming family wedding.
Her father picked her up and drove her through the Road Town area, stopping at various gas stations and bars and drinking several beers, according to Justice Ann-Marie Smith, who on Monday summed up the allegations that had been presented throughout the trial for the jury.
At several of those locations, the daughter stayed in her father’s jeep while he went inside, the court heard.
Finally, the duo drove back to the father’s residence in Sea Cows Bay. The teenager reported that she then took a shower, got into bed and went to sleep.
Jurors heard that a short time later the father gave her a kiss on the check, and then on the mouth. He then allegedly got on top of her, and the teenager tried to push him off but he held her down. The court heard that the girl repeatedly said, “Daddy, stop,” but he did not.
The father allegedly claimed that he thought he was having sex with his girlfriend but didn’t remember the incident clearly.
Sentencing
Afterwards, the teenager reportedly went into the bathroom but realised the lock on the door was broken. When she came out crying, her father told her not to tell anyone, including her mother, and that he would give her anything she wanted, the court heard.
A short time later, the teenager saw her father get into his girlfriend’s car and leave, according to the allegations.
The girl allegedly grabbed her bags and pounded on several neighbours’ doors before she reached the home of a retired police officer. The teenager told him that her father had sex with her, and the former officer gave her a blanket and called the police, the justice reported.
The 15-year-old went to the hospital, where she met other family members, and a sexual assault exam was conducted. Seminal fluid was found in the victim’s vagina, according to Dr. Natasha Frett, who had examined the teenager that night and testified during the trial.
A DNA sample taken from the father matched the seminal fluid found in the victim, according to lab results presented in court.
For a charge of incest, 10 years is typically the maximum prison sentence, the justice said. The father is to return to court on Jan. 14 for sentencing.