The court has confirmed the conviction of 40-year-old James Grech, a school van driver who was sentenced to 11 years in prison after repeatedly sexually assaulting and raping an eight-year-old girl in 2006.
Entrusted with the responsibility of driving her home from school, Grech would drop off all of the other children and take the young girl to a field, where he would sexually assault or rape her.
The victim had recounted that the driver touched her inappropriately for the first time after she decided not to sit next to him following his initial advances. She went on to reveal that she once ended up with blood coming out of her nose and mouth after he hurled her across the van for telling him not to do anything to her.
The driver was originally found guilty of his crimes in 2020, where he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The defense then filed an appeal, with one of the arguments being that it did not have an opportunity to cross-examine the victim.
The Court ultimately decided that the girl’s testimony is to be believed because, beyond other reasons, it was always consistent.
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