40-Year-Old Man Jailed After Impregnating Minor

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A man who impregnated a 14-year-old schoolgirl was yesterday sentenced to four years in prison as part of a plea deal.

Jared Higgs tells us more about the case and why some members of the public think the sentence is too light.

40 -year-old Justin Pratt pleaded guilty to five counts of unlawful sexual intercourse when he appeared before Supreme Court Justice Renae McKay. Police found the child at Pratt’s home around 9 a.m., on January 14, 2020, after investigating a tip from an anonymous caller.

The officers allegedly heard sexual noises coming from the apartment at Shamrock Close in the Carmichael Road area.

On gaining entrance, the officers met the child putting on her school uniform. They arrested Pratt, then alerted the juvenile’s mother, who thought her daughter was at school.

The child was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital where doctors confirmed she was pregnant.

The teen told police that she met Pratt on Facebook and that they had sex five times between June 2019 and January 2020.

Members of the public have expressed outrage at this sentence and other sentences for sex crimes that they deemed too lenient.

One unemployed woman says this four year plea deal is an insult to the victim’s family.

Justin Pratt’s prison sentence took effect from March 28. Following his release from prison, Pratt will be on probation for three years. If he commits any crime during the probation period, Pratt will spend two years in prison.

Cassie Bethell prosecuted, and Ian Cargill represented Pratt.