Mother of sexually exploited girl says perpetrator should have been jailed

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The mother of a molested girl said yesterday she was outraged that the man responsible was given a suspended sentence.

Joshua Crockwell, 22, was convicted earlier this year of sexually exploiting a 12-year-old girl in a 2010 incident.

Chief Justice Ian Kawaley last week upheld the sentence, but said that in the future such offences should be met with an immediate custodial sentence.

The victim’s mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said yesterday: “Joshua Crockwell deserves time in jail. I don’t think he’s a low risk, I think he’s a high risk.

“He knew that she was in Middle School. He knew better. Even if he was young, he still knew right from wrong.”

According to prosecutors, Crockwell first approached the victim outside of her home as she was playing with friends. He was 20 years old at the time, and the victim 12.

The pair exchanged text messages, and in June of 2010 he arranged to meet her at a school and then attempted to have her to perform oral sex on him.

Following a trial, Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo sentenced Crockwell to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years, and a two-year period of probation.

During sentencing, Mr Tokunbo said: “Clearly there was a mutual attraction between you and the young lady, but you ought to have known better and known that she was off limits for any type of sexual contact.”

The sentence, along with Mr Tokunbo’s comments, sparked outrage in the community, with the Coalition for the Protection of Children describing the Magistrate’s handling of the case as something from the “dark ages.”

The Department of Public Prosecutions launched an appeal of the sentence, while lawyer Elizabeth Christopher, representing Crockwell, launched an appeal of the conviction.

On Friday, the Chief Justice ruled that the sentence was not manifestly inadequate based on the law and current sentencing practices, and made note of the controversy surrounding the case.

He said it would be wrong for judges to be affected by “popular sentiment” about a case when sentencing, and took issue with the way the case was reported by the media.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Kawaley said: “The Learned Magistrate did not suggest or imply that the complainant was in any way to blame for encouraging the commission of the offence.

“When the sentencing remarks are viewed as a whole, it is impossible to fairly say that the Learned Magistrate displayed any insensitivity to the complainant.”

Commenting on the matter yesterday, the victim’s mother said she was present for Mr Tokunbo’s ruling and felt that the outrage was reasonable.

“I thought that he was out of line with what he said and at the end of the day, a 12-year-old and a 20-year-old were not mutually attracted,” she said.

“I think that the Chief justice was wrong in saying that the media spun it. I think the community should be outraged.”

Psychologist Carol Shuman meanwhile said she was surprised by the decision to uphold the sentence.

“To uphold this non-custodial sentence, but then to suggest that in the future, unless there are special circumstances, such cases should be custodial in nature, presents for me a very confusing decision-making process,” Dr Shuman said.

“Victims' rights, it would seem, matter today as much as they will tomorrow. At some point, I believe, Bermuda has got to stop leaving its soul at the door. I just wonder when that will be.”

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