KINGSTON, Jamaica – The St Elizabeth fisherman who was found guilty of raping a 14-year-old Haitian girl he brought to Jamaica from Haiti under the guise of offering her a better life, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Rohan Ebanks, 45, was also ordered to pay the victim $2 million following his sentencing this afternoon in the Circuit Court in downtown Kingston.

Ebanks was sentenced by Justice Courtney Daye to 16 years in prison for rape, 14 years in prison for trafficking in person, and 10 years for facilitating trafficking in person. However, all the sentences are to run concurrently.

Ebanks’ girlfriend, Venoshia Reeves, 28, who pleaded guilty to facilitating trafficking in person, was sentenced to three years in prison suspended for 18 months.

She was also asked to pay a fine of $50,000 or serve 12 months in prison.

The court heard that while on a visit to Haiti in 2010, Ebanks convinced relatives of a teenage girl to allow him to take her to Jamaica with the promise that she would have a better life.

However, prosecutors say when the teen arrived in Jamaica, she was forced to take care of the couple’s children and was sexually assaulted.

Tanesha Mundle