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Serial sex offender jailed for 18 years

Grotto Bay Beach Resort & Spa, the scene of Lonnie Trott’s heinous crime (File photograph by Akil Simmons)

A serial sex offender was jailed for 18 years yesterday after a sexual assault on a tourist in her hotel room.

Lonnie Trott, 56, climbed into the second-floor room at the Grotto Bay Resort, stripped naked and assaulted a woman while she slept.

The attack came less than two hours after he broke into another room at the same hotel and terrified a couple.

Trott had previously been convicted in 1990 for the rape of a tourist while awaiting trial for a previous rape.

Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said: “Trott is on the top shelf, in my opinion, among the most dangerous sexual offenders in the country, and his sentence must be such that society feels some comfort.”

He called Trott a cunning, determined predator focused on getting what he desired even after being stopped once.

Mr Justice Greaves ordered that Trott be placed on the sex offenders list and that he serve a minimum of nine years before he is eligible for parole.

He told Trott: “This court considers you such a dangerous predator that really you ought not be released until you serve the entire sentence, but I am bound by the law and restrained by that.”

The judge added he “shuddered” at the idea of Trott being released while he is still young enough to climb.

On the night of the attack, Trott parked his motorcycle outside the resort and walked on to the property. He then climbed the outside of a building and opened an unlocked door to gain access to a room where a visiting couple were sleeping.

The couple woke and confronted Trott, who ran away, but he returned to the area a short while later.

He stashed his bike in some nearby bushes, re-entered the property and climbed into another room occupied by a single woman. Once inside, he went to the bathroom, took off his clothes, and assaulted the guest.

He fled when the victim fought back, but he left his underwear at the scene of the crime.

Trott admitted going into the woman’s room, but claimed he did so only to defecate.

He maintained his innocence throughout a Supreme Court trial, but was convicted of one count of sexual assault and two counts of burglary with intent to commit sexual assault.

Prosecutor Larissa Burgess said Trott had shown absolutely no remorse for his crimes and continued to maintain his “bewildering” version of events.

She detailed Trott’s previous convictions, both of which came after he climbed up to a second-floor room at the Club Med resort in St George’s and attacked the guests inside.

Trott was sentenced to a total of 20 years for the offences, but was released on December 18, 2007.

Ms Burgess said Trott was at a high risk of reoffending.

She said: “The defendant knew what he was doing was immoral because he has already been convicted on very similar circumstances.”

Trott himself told the court he was innocent of all charges and requested his sentencing be adjourned so he could secure a new lawyer.

Mr Justice Greaves refused the application, labelling it an attempt to stall the process.

He said: “The evidence showed an extremely determined individual carrying out this sexual assault and these burglaries that night. And a cunning one at that.

“He has the presence of mind to hide his motorcycle along the highway and walk the journey on foot to the hotel and changing around his clothes to alter his appearance, turning his shirt inside out.

“Even after his first encounter, after he had been unsuccessful in achieving that which he desired and after leaving the property, he returned with even more determination.”

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