A PENAL mason will pay a fine and be registered as a sex offender after he pleaded guilty to having sex with a female under the age of 14.

Parmannd Bachan, 28, who was indicted under the name Avie Bachan, appeared virtually from one of the Judiciary’s virtual access centres for his sentencing on Wednesday.

He pleaded guilty on August 18 and was sentenced by Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas who, in addition to imposing the $5,000 fine, also ordered Bachan to report to the Penal police station every year for five years.

Bachan’s name will also be put on the National Sex Offenders’ Registry and the sex offenders’ website, in accordance with the Sexual Offences Act.

St Clair-Douglas said the punitive objective of deterrence in imposing a sentence was not paramount in this case, because the offender was not likely to re-offend.

He also said he took into account Bachan’s remorse; the fact there was no orchestration, planning or grooming in the commission of the offence which took place on January 26, 2012; and the impact on the covid19 pandemic if a custodial sentence were imposed.

It was the prosecution’s case, which Bachan accepted, that on the day in question, at Rochard Douglas Road, Penal, the victim, then 13, called out to him as he passed by her home.

She was home alone, although her mother had sent her to a neighbour’s home while the mother was in the hospital. The girl returned home and invited Bachan into the house.

He initially refused, but when she invited him again, he went in.

Bachan joined the girl on a hammock and she began kissing him. They then went into a bedroom, where she suggested they have sex.

The facts, as read out by the judge, said Bachan again refused but eventually gave in, asking her if she was sure she wanted “to do this,” and she said yes.

They then had sex.

“She was a willing, encouraging participant,” the judge said but maintained that that was not a defence that the court considered a mitigating factor. St Clair-Douglas reminded that under the law, the penalty for sex with minors carried a life sentence, emphasising: “Sex with underage females is off limits and punishment will be severe.

“It will not avail a man to point out that the virtual complaint was precocious,” he said.

But the judge said each case must be examined on the basis of its individual facts.

“The fact that the virtual complainant willingly participated in the sexual activity is not a factor to ameliorate the sentence with a reduction."

He said Bachan was 18 at the time of the offence, had a clean record before and has not reoffended since.

“It was a one-off offending,” he said.

The judge started with a sentence of two and a half years, or 30 months, and reduced it by a year because of the mitigating circumstances attributed to Bachan’s age at the time, his clean record, and his remorse.

From the remaining 18 months, he received his one-third discount for his guilty plea, leaving 12 months.

Having taken into consideration all the factors, the judge said he also considered the imp