A local man from St. Kitts has been handed a total 14-year custodial sentence after a High Court conviction on two separate counts of unlawful carnal knowledge, court officials confirmed last week.
Reginald Johnson received his sentence on September 11 during a hearing at the Basseterre High Court, presided over by His Lordship Justice Patrick Thompson Jr. The legal proceedings stem from two separate offenses committed in late 2022, both involving violations of sexual offense laws in the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Court records show Johnson entered a guilty plea for the first charge, which relates to an offense committed between June 1 and June 22, 2022. For this count, he was ordered to serve six years behind bars. The second charge, tied to an incident that occurred between December 1 and December 31 of the same year, went to a full jury trial, where Johnson was ultimately found guilty by the panel. He received an eight-year prison term for this second conviction.
Per the court’s sentencing order, Johnson will serve both sentences consecutively, rather than concurrently, resulting in a combined total sentence of 14 years of incarceration. Local law enforcement officials added that Johnson has already been held in remand custody for three years and 18 days leading up to his conviction and sentencing. That pre-conviction detention time will be deducted from his total 14-year term, reducing the amount of time he will spend in prison after the sentencing ruling.
The conviction closes a more than three-year-long legal process that began after the offenses were reported to authorities in 2022. The sentencing follows standard criminal procedure under St. Kitts and Nevis’ judicial system, which allows for credit of pre-sentencing remand time against final custodial sentences.