More than 200 children have reportedly been affected by sexual offences in Antigua and Barbuda so far this year, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has disclosed.

Browne said Social and Urban Transformation Minister Rawdon Turner presented the figure during a Cabinet meeting and repeated it at a subsequent executive meeting.

“Minister Rawdon Turner reported to the Cabinet and repeated last night at our executive meeting that, to date, over 200 of our children for this year,” Browne said during the Browne and Browne Show.

The disclosure followed a discussion of several cases involving children between the ages of 3 and 13 who were sexually assaulted by adults.

The sentences outlined during the programme ranged from probation to just over five years in prison. Some of the perpetrators were relatives or people placed in positions of trust.

Browne said the figure covers cases resembling those examples, though no detailed breakdown was provided of the allegations, charges, convictions or ages of the children involved.

The prime minister cited the reported number as he renewed his call for tougher penalties for serious sexual offences against children.

The government is considering minimum prison terms for specified child sexual offences while preserving limited judicial discretion in cases involving exceptional circumstances.

Browne has also backed, in principle, Minister Turner’s proposal for sentences ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment for the most serious sexual offences against children.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: VIDEO: More Than 200 Children Reportedly Victims of Sexual-Offences This Year.