In T&T: Ex-cop gets 17 years in prison for rape

(Trinidad Express) Seventeen years’ imprisonment was the sentence imposed on a 63-year-old former police officer yesterday on a charge of raping a woman at his Chaguanas home in 2010.

Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas imposed the sentence on Andy Allan, after he was found guilty of the offence by a nine-member jury at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain last December. The judge had initially considered a15-year sentence but in weighing the both the aggravating and mitigating factors, he increased the sentence by two years.

In fact, St Clair-Douglas said there were no mitigating factor to consider. On the other hand, the judge said there were a number of aggravating factors including the convict’s former profession, and the fact that he put her through the trauma of testifying at the trial.

Allan, who represented himself was charged with raping the woman at his home on March 27, 2010. According to the State’s case, at the time of the incident, he was a netball coach and that the victim was a member of the team. On the day in question, the woman had gone to Allan’s home to collect uniforms she and her teammates needed to take part in a competition that was to take place the next day.

During the trial, the woman testified that Allan told her she could go to his bedroom and try on the uniform but while doing so, he entered the room and proceeded to rape her.

In his defence, Allan claimed that he and the woman shared a close relationship and that on a monthly basis, he would deposit money into her bank account. He admitted having intercourse with the woman on the day in question but denied he had forced her into doing so and that he even dropped her off at her home afterwards.

Allan also contended that it was only after the woman’s boyfriend found out about their secret relationship that she went on to report to incident to police. All of these claims were denied by the woman.