Elderly man jailed for raping pensioner

S11-year-old Oliver Chesterfield Fields will spend another 10 years and eight months behind bars for raping a pensioner in 2020.

Ms Justice Wanda Blair sentenced the Edey Village, Christ Church, resident to 15 years in prison for the offense but then deducted two years in prison because of his previous clean record, low risk of re-offending and positive pre-sentence report. Because of Field’s health, he was granted an additional two years of release, and there was also a reduction for the duration of his pre-trial detention.

Earlier this year, on September 28, 2020, Fields was found guilty in a majority verdict of having sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent, knowing she had not consented or being careless about whether she had consented.

The elderly complainant, who was 70 at the time of the incident, had told the court that Fields had been a family friend for several years and was tiling the shower at her home when he pushed her against the bathroom wall and demanded sex. She refused, but he ended up raping her on the bathroom floor.

In his defense, Fields admitted to having sexual intercourse with the woman, but claimed it was consensual and instigated by her.

When she handed down her sentence in the Supreme Court No. 4A on Friday, Justice Blair agreed with the aggravating factors set out by senior prosecutor Joyann Catwell and prosecutor Maya Kellman, including the applicant’s age and health and the breach of trust the defendant was a family friend and a spiritual leader, the elderly woman suffered physical and psychological trauma, the sexual intercourse was unprotected and the act occurred in the sanctity of the woman’s home.

“Rape is one of the most serious crimes that can be committed against a woman. It is used to physically subjugate the woman, abuse her and completely humiliate her. It is cruel and humiliating as the woman is forced against her will to enter into intimate relationships with a man in circumstances where she is completely helpless and at the mercy of her attacker. Sex should be a pleasurable experience and not used as a means of perverted gratification for others. This often results in physical, emotional and psychological harm to the victim, sometimes for life,” Judge Blair said.

Fields was represented by attorneys Neville Reid and Kristin Vanderpool.