Monday, February 15, 2010

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Man gets 12 years for sexual assault of boy By Artesia Davis ~ Guardian Senior Reporter ~ artesia@nasguard.com: A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for a sexual assault on a nine-year-old boy. Andrew Lincoln Brown, 48, was convicted in October of snatching the boy as he walked home from school on September 19, 2003. The victim, now 15, claimed that Brown sodomized him in his home. He said he knew Brown because they both lived on the same street. He was able to give a detailed description of the inside of Brown's home. Justice Vera Watkins on Monday sentenced Brown, who is nicknamed Spoon, after receiving a probation report. Brown's lawyer, Dorsey McPhee, told the court that his client had maintained his innocence throughout the trial and still denied committing the crime. He said convicts have later been exonerated after it was found that they were wrongly convicted. McPhee noted that there was no DNA evidence in the case and that Brown's family and fiancee claimed the crime was out of character for him. Justice Watkins told Brown that the maximum sentence for unnatural intercourse is 20 years. She said, "I mention the maximum sentence to let you know that this by any stretch is not a minor offense. The only mitigating factor is that this is a first conviction for you." Linda Evans, Basil Cumberbatch and Lennox Coleby prosecuted. Tuesday February 09, 2010