Two teenaged girls from a St. Catherine based high school have gone down in history as the first females to be convicted for engaging in under-aged sex.
The girls, along with their teenaged boyfriends, all pleaded guilty to the charge last week in what was a landmark court case.
The presiding judge, Justice Lennox Campbell, used his discretion and sentenced all four to two years probation, rather than the mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years.
It is the first time that girls have been prosecuted under the country’s sexual offences law.
The incident happened sometime last year, when the children were between 13 and 15 years old.
The two girls were reportedly in a steady relationship with the two boys.
Both boys were represented in the court proceedings by attorney-at-law, Ricardo Sandcroft.
According to Mr. Sandcroft, all four children had reported for school on the day in question, but left before classes were dismissed.
They reportedly went to a friend’s house where they had sex.
Its understood that someone at the school alerted the mother of one of the girls who then went in search of the two young couples.
The mother found them and hauled them to the police station where all four were charged with having sex with a minor.
Mr. Sandcroft hailed the arresting officer for her strict enforcement of the law.
The ruling in the Home Circuit Court is a clear message to young girls: you too can be held accountable for having sex with a minor.
Now that the law has become gender neutral, girls no longer enjoy special privilege.
The teens in the case are fortunate to have avoided jail time.
The mandatory minimum sentence for this crime is 15 years in prison, but, considering the circumstances, Justice Campbell let them off easy, with 2 years probation.
The law is traditionally viewed as an instrument to protect children from paedophiles, but as Mr. Sandcroft notes, children also need protection from themselves.
