Tobago man sentenced for raping, robbing tourist in 2010 home invasion

News

A Tobago man has been sentenced by the High Court for crimes committed during a 2010 home invasion in Patience Hill, Tobago.

Darren Romeo, 38, faced three charges of burglary, robbery with aggravation, and rape.

He was recently sentenced by Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds, after pleading guilty to all the charges.

Romeo received concurrent sentences of 14 years for burglary and robbery and 22 years for rape.

However, after he received a one-third discount for his guilty plea and the 13 years, 11 months and 18 days were deducted, he was left to serve eight months and 12 days for rape while the burglary and robbery charges have already been considered served.

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The crimes occurred on the night of December 9, 2010.

Romeo and an accomplice broke into the home of a 63-year-old woman, armed with machetes.

They stole items including a laptop, an iPod, a wristwatch, a safety deposit box, cash, and other valuables. During the invasion, Romeo repeatedly raped the victim and forced her to perform degrading acts. He also held a machete to her neck.

The victim, a UK resident, was renovating her Tobago property at the time. The ordeal caused her to sell the house and leave Tobago due to ongoing psychological trauma.

The judge noted that Romeo “appeared to take the lead from the beginning through to the end of the ordeal.

“He was the one who committed the sexual assault and he engaged in those atrocities while the co-conspirator had gone off with the bank card.

“It is he who inflicted the full extent of callousness towards the VC (virtual complainant).

“For example, it is he who climbed over the bathroom partition where she had been hiding and calling the police and began the trauma by grabbing her throat then and there. And even after the searching, ransacking and raping, he opened the fridge and said, ‘What, no drinks for us?’”

It is these aggravating factors that “tipped the scale” warranting an upward adjustment on her starting sentences by two years. Ramsumair-Hinds acknowledged Romeo's co-operation with authorities, expressions of remorse, and efforts at rehabilitation during incarceration, including participation in yoga and education programs.

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By her order, Romeo is also required to register as a sex offender and must report to the Arouca Police Station within seven days of his release and continue reporting for three years.

She also ordered that the Registrar of the Supreme Court place a copy of her ruling on Romeo’s file as he faces a new trial for 2010 charges related to an incident involving the robbery of an English couple and is also awaiting trial on a 2014 murder charge so that if convicted of those offences and sentenced, he will not benefit from the time-spent he was credited with.

In her sentencing ruling, Ramsumair-Hinds noted the implications the crimes had for Tobago’s tourist industry and the horror faced by the victim.

Aleena Ramjag of the Public Defenders Department represented Romeo while Charmaine Samuel and Guiliana Guy represented the State.