Shane Edwards, a Dominican artiste who goes by the stage name “Sukie Burn Brain” was sentenced on Friday to serve six months in a prison in Grenada.
The 36-year-old had been charged with indecent assault of a 15-year-old girl who came to visit the island with her family from Canada.
Under the laws of Grenada, indecent assault carries a maximum jail sentence of five years.
But Mr. Edwards pleaded guilty to the offence, making way for his attorney Jerry Edwin to mitigate on his behalf.
He explained that “The sentencing guidelines were the benchmark which the magistrate used to arrive at a sentence. So, the starting point was actually 18 months in prison but ultimately, the magistrate after mitigation which we offered to the court, sentenced Shane Edwards, the artiste who would be from Dominica to six months in prison”.
“The magistrate listened to our mitigation. We are satisfied that the sentence was reduced from 18 months down to 6 months,” he said.
What happened?
- The incident occurred on November 24th, 2022 at the Royalton in Grenada
- Mr. Edwards had traveled to the island from St. Lucia to perform at a Fire & Ice concert on November 26th alongside other local and regional artistes.
- He was accused of inappropriately touching a 15-year-old girl and another complainant – Witness accounts state that the victim and her friend were sitting by the hotel pool when Mr. Edwards touched one girl’s head and slid his hand up the other girl’s thigh, asking if she wanted to leave with him to have a “good time”
- After Mr. Edward’s gestures, he requested to take a photo with one of the girls however, the picture was blurry and so, he pulled her back requesting another photograph be taken
- A police report was made that same day
- The following day on November 26th, 2022, he was charged by police in Grenada for indecent assault
- Mr. Edwards was sentenced to six months imprisonment by magistrate Teddy St. Louis
In considering the circumstances of the case, Magistrate Teddy St. Louis, attorney Edwin said, made the point that there is an epidemic of sexual offences throughout the Caribbean and that it should not be overlooked.
“The magistrate correctly pointed out that too many women old and young are victims. Many women do not come forward, these two young ladies did,’ the attorney remarked.
During the hearing, Mr. Edwin also raised the basis of cultural differences based on touching – an argument that he said was disregarded by the magistrate.
Mr. Edwards is a recovering drug user who was diagnosed by health authorities in Dominica as having a mental problem.
Sources close to the matter tell IPB, that the artiste has been in and out of prison since 2004.
He rose to stardom after releasing a song entitled “Work that Pussy Muscle” which became popular both regionally and internationally.
English