SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Even as he accepted that Friday’s second delay in the sentencing for the 17-year-old who raped, buggered and strangled his nine-year-old daughter was unavoidable, a Westmoreland father couldn’t help but wonder what penalty will eventually be handed down. His sentencing has been pushed back by a week.

The teen convict was 13 at the time he killed the little girl whom he lured into bushes on their way home from school with talk of picking apples. They knew each other.

Referencing the trial judge’s earlier comment that a child cannot be given the death penalty, the father told the Jamaica Observer he hopes the boy gets a lengthy stay in jail.

“A time where you know say he can stay a long, long time and reflect and say, ‘You know seh a stupidness mi do.’ At the same time it would show people that you can’t do things and get a walkover, come out back, and do the same thing again,” said the father whose name is not being used to protect his daughter’s memory.

The 17-year-old convict has also not been named as he is a minor.

The still-grieving father is hoping that, in the future, the Government will consider a harsh penalty for those found guilty of a similarly horrendous crime.

“The Government needs to really take a look at what is going on in the country. It needs a stiffer penalty towards a certain area of crime where violence is happening amongst the young children of our country,” he argued.

He said parents who have done a poor job raising their children are also to blame.

“It boil back to the parents not teaching their children morals, discipline and behaviour,” he reasoned.

While conceding that there are a number of factors that can cause such abhorrent behaviour as that displayed by the teen who killed his daughter, he stressed that it is important for parents to keep an eye on their children and address any areas of concern before it is too late.

A six-member jury found the teenage boy guilty on July 1.

During his trial the court was told the boy sexually assaulted and killed the child after she accepted his invitation to pick apples as they walked home from school on June 5, 2018.

Her body was found near a guava tree, which is about 15-20 feet from the apple tree. A post-mortem report presented in court showed that the child died of asphyxia caused by manual strangulation. She also had lacerations of the vagina and anus.