Appeal Court upholds 28-year jail term for man who raped 6-year-old girl

The Court of Appeal (CoA) on Monday affirmed the 28 years jail term for Colvin Norton, who was found guilty of raping a six-year-old girl in 2018 that was left in his care.

Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards handed down the ruling and rejected the rapist’s appeal.

Justice Cummings-Edwards said the jury’s verdict could not be unsafe or unsatisfactory. As such, the appellate court affirmed Norton’s convictions and sentences for child rape.

In 2018, Norton, 28, was jailed after being found guilty by a jury of sexually penetrating the child on August 1, 2013, and then again on August 6. He was 19 years old at the time.

The court heard that Norton was caught in the act by the child’s mother on the second occasion.

Trial Judge Jo Ann Barlow sentenced the 28-year-old man to 24 years in prison on the first count while adding four more years for aggravating factors, thereby sentencing him to 28 years. The two sentences were ordered to be served concurrently.

In light of his sentences and convictions, the man, through Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd, moved to the Appeal Court.

The Attorney asked the Court to examine the medical evidence that was used to convict his client of the crime. Further, Todd contended that, among other things, the records were inadequate and that the jury was left to speculate and form their own opinion using the faulty information.