The placement and sheer number of burns inflicted on his ex-girlfriend’s body were some of the considerations that landed Matthew Hyde a sentence of 13 years and nine months in prison on Tuesday.

“Deliberately burning someone with a clothes iron, having had the victim strip herself naked, entails a significant level of cruelty, callousness, and brutality,” Justice Carolyn Tie-Powell said in delivering the sentence.

Hyde had pleaded guilty to seven counts in September, including four counts of grievous bodily harm, which carry a life sentence. These counts were relating to the different iron burns he inflicted on the victim.

Justice Tie-Powell slapped him with 14 years for the three charges stemming from the burns to the woman’s buttocks, arms, back, and chest; but for the charges relating to the burns on her face, Hyde got 15 years and seven months.

His guilty plea early on was the main factor cutting down his prison time, as it awarded him a 15 per cent discount.

Judges are allowed to give a discount of up to 50 per cent when sentencing on guilty pleas.

Regarding the less serious counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, relating to his pushing and choking the victim, and false imprisonment, Hyde was sentenced to one year and nine months, and one year and five months, respectively, both of which amounted to time served.

For the charge of malicious communication he got five years and nine months. All sentences are to run concurrently and his one year and 10 months spent in prison were considered, leaving the now-22 year old with 13 years and nine months left to spend behind bars.

“It is horrifying what was done to the complainant in this matter, and persons who act in this inhumane way must prepare themselves for significant periods of imprisonment,” the judge said directly to Hyde.

Prior to sentencing, the judge detailed the facts of the case including that, after a mutual break-up, the complainant had gone to Hyde’s room on February 6 to resolve a disagreement, when he accessed her phone and found sensitive photos.

Hyde then accused her of having been unfaithful to him. It was after this that the young man physically assaulted her, including choking her, and demanded answers regarding the content of the device. He went on to instruct her to undress before videoing her and forcing her to apologise, then sharing footage to a private status, and at least one other individual, resulting in his charge of malicious communication.

Over the course of 24 hours, on February 8, Hyde first burned the young woman with the iron on the posterior, then splashed cold water on her burns and applied burn cream to her, while instructing her to answer questions regarding when she went on dates.

When she could not answer fast enough, he threatened to burn her face as well, but burned her chest and breasts when she struggled to move her face away. He eventually did carry out his threat to injure her face, affecting her jaw, nose, lips, and forehead.

As Tie-Powell read the facts of the case, tears flowed down the cheeks of the complainant, who had joined the proceedings via Zoom.

In explaining her sentence for the grievous bodily harm counts, Tie-Powell said she had taken into consideration aggravating factors, including the fact that the abuse took place over a period of time as Hyde returned to burn the young woman multiple times; the considerable physical and psychological pain from the injuries, which would have been clearly foreseeable from the accused; the fact that there were numerous burns; and the placement of those burns.

“It was almost as if the accused was attempting to make her unattractive to any other man,” Tie-Powell said, noting that the injuries on the victim’s face were clearly intentional and deliberately placed.

“A person’s face plays such a crucial role in that person’s identity; to disfigure same is abhorrent, particularly so for a woman,” the judge said.

The financial and emotional strain on the young woman’s family and the attitude of the accused were also considered by Tie-Powell.

“He jeered the complainant while he burned her. He tortured her and he tormented her. The level of cruelty displayed, not just in physically hurting her, but in taunting her as he did what he did, is a significant aggravating factor,” the judge said.

The young woman’s mental health deteriorated to the point that her mother was forced to quit her job to stay with her full time.

Considered as mitigating factors to Hyde’s benefit were his age, admitted remorse, and his own psychiatric challenges.

The judge also took into consideration a determination that Hyde was considered low risk of imminent violence to the society, but at a moderate risk for adults known to him. It was revealed that the young man had been moved to his lodgings at The University of the West Indies, Mona following a violent altercation with his grandmother that sent her to hospital.

Tie-Powell said, while Hyde’s age in particular indicated a possibility of reform, it did not hold much weight in his culpability.

“You were fairly young, albeit old enough to know that what you were doing was wrong,” she told Hyde.

Any mitigating effect of Hyde’s admitted remorse for his actions, which came a year after his arrest during a psychiatric session, was tempered by the length of time it took, the judge said.

Upon receiving the sentence, Hyde had no visible reaction.

However, his attorney, Patrick Peterkin, expressed surprise at the length of the prison time, having petitioned the court for no more than four years after presenting several cases to be considered in his client’s favour.

“I was not expecting anything in that regard, based on looking at the line of cases and sentences. I was of the view that the sentence would be much less than what was imposed, especially with the fact that he also pleaded guilty. I was hoping, given that he pleaded at the first relevant time, that he would have at the very least benefited from a 50 per cent discount,” Peterkin told the Jamaica Observer.

Tie-Powell said the court was not of the view that the four-year penalty that the defence had been seeking was appropriate.

“What happened in this case was different and makes it distinguishable from the cases relied on by the defence. What this accused did was a series of acts punctuated by breaks and then a resumption of the burning. It was not a one-off act. Her pain must have been obvious and palpable to the accused, yet he maintained his assault on her over a period of time,” the judge said.

She had also indicated during her explanation that she was satisfied with the discount applied.

“I am of the view that anything else would be disproportionate to the seriousness of the offence and would be inappropriate in this particular case and would shock the public conscience.”

As for the $2-million that was paid over voluntarily to the accused by Hyde’s family, Tie-Powell found it was not a substantial sum in the context of the reparative work that needs to be done, both physically and psychologically.

Upon exiting the courtroom after the sentencing, Adam Hyde, the young man’s father, said there was, “A lot to say, but not today.”

Obika Gordon, representing the young woman, not only confirmed that a civil case seeking damages will go forward in the face of the criminal sentence, but said the victim was “fairly satisfied that the judge considered all that needed to be considered”.

In directly addressing the convict, Tie-Powell said: “You are young and you have the capacity to reform if you so choose. It is unfortunate that this must take place within the confines of prison, but I am satisfied that it must.”

Given Hyde’s personal psychiatric issues, which include a diagnosis of persistent depressive disorder with a history of major depressive episodes, Tie-Powell has ordered targeted treatment, as deemed appropriate by the prison psychiatrist, throughout his incarceration.

“The underlying causes of his behaviour must be addressed so as to reduce the likelihood of precedent in this area,” she said.

Regarding any decisions to appeal, Peterkin said that direction would have to come from Hyde’s family. His uncle had indicated the family needed time to breathe.