NASSAU, The Bahamas (CMC) —A Bahamian High Court judge has sentenced a man to 15 years in jail after he pleaded guilty to raping his six-year-old daughter four years ago.

The sentence will also be served at the same time as a 17-year sentence for the rape of a 25-year-old woman.

Justice Dale Fitzpatrick told the convicted man that by pleading guilty, he had taken the first step in rehabilitating a broken relationship.

“The sorrow that you are feeling is something to build on,” the judge said, adding, “You can’t undo the past, but we are so blessed to have another day to be better. Every day I try to be better. We can all be better. You must be better.”

The decision to plead guilty spared the now 10-year-old child from having to relive the events of March 12, 2022. The name of the man is being withheld to protect her identity.

Justice Fitzpatrick said that the prosecution “had a good case and there was a decent chance that he would have been convicted after a trial”.

The judge also indicated that the sentence would have been “no way near 15 years” if the man had not pleaded guilty and the case had gone to trial. Incest carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Under the plea deal, the man will receive credit for time spent on remand. A second count of incest and charges of indecent assault and cruelty to children were also dismissed in accordance with the agreement.

During the court sentencing, the man, who was barred from contacting his daughter while on bail for the offence, asked whether he could talk to his daughter again, to  which the judge replied, “I guess that’s up to her mother and your daughter as she grows older.”