PHILIPSBURG:--- The Court of Appeal has sentenced R.S.D.M. to 30 months in prison for repeatedly sexually abusing a minor girl entrusted to her care and for complicity in the rape of two other girls by her then-husband, B.E.M.S.
The October 20 ruling overturned an earlier judgment that imposed a six-month suspended prison sentence and 200 hours of community service after finding one charge proven.
The offenses occurred between 2006 and 2020 and formed part of the wider Pandora investigation into the sexual abuse of minors. The youngest victim was only four years old at the start of the period established by the Court.
On appeal, the prosecution sought convictions on additional charges and an eight-year, two-month prison sentence. The Court of Appeal set aside the first-instance judgment and reached different conclusions on several charges.
The Court found that R.S.D.M. repeatedly sexually abused a girl placed in her care. It also found that she knew her then-husband was raping two other girls who stayed in their home and intentionally enabled the abuse to continue by failing to intervene or stop him.
R.S.D.M. was acquitted of two other charges involving two girls. These included an allegation of complicity in sexual abuse committed by B.E.M.S. and J.W., a female friend of the household. The Court found insufficient evidence that the abuse in question occurred within R.S.D.M.’s home and sphere of influence.
In determining the sentence, the Court considered R.S.D.M.’s dependent position relative to her then-husband, along with her personal circumstances. It said a 36-month prison term would otherwise have been appropriate but reduced that sentence by six months because proceedings had exceeded a reasonable time in both the first instance and the appeal.
The Court will deduct time already spent in police custody from the sentence.
The Court also awarded Cg 20,000 in compensation to each of the two victims. R.S.D.M. is jointly liable with B.E.M.S. for one of those awards.
The Pandora investigation also resulted in convictions against B.E.M.S. and J.W. The Prosecutor’s Office and KPSM previously reported that a victim’s disclosure to a trusted adult prompted action in the case.
In related appeal proceedings, B.E.M.S.’s original 17-year prison sentence was reduced to 13 years and six months in March 2026. In February 2024, the court reduced J.W.'s sentence from 13 years to eight years.
