Child kidnappers get nine years
OCHO RIOS, St Ann – Three men charged jointly with the kidnapping of an 11-year-old boy on April 8 this year, were each sentenced to nine years at hard labour when they appeared in the St Ann Circuit court on Tuesday.
The men, all from the parish of St Mary, are Stanford Nembhard, 46, of Boscobel View and Wilderness, Dwayne Raffington, 27, of Charles Town, and 28-year-old Osmond Taylor of Robin’s Bay.
According to the prosecution, around 1:30 pm on the day in question, an 11-year-old boy was snatched from Ocho Rios and taken to an undisclosed location by his abductors.
A telephone call, the police reported, was later made to the parents of the boy demanding $1.5 million for his safe return.
The boy’s parents provided the cash, which was picked up by the kidnappers later that day after which the boy was released unharmed.
Following intense and coordinated police investigations, involving Operation Kingfish and the Criminal Intelligence Branch, Nembhard was picked up the following night in St Mary.
Raffington and Taylor were apprehended later in the month.
The police reported then that approximately $1.3 million of the ransom money was recovered.