2 plead guiltyBy Indarjit Seuraj Thursday, July 31 2008
The fate of Scott Joseph and Nyron Toney will rest in the hands of Magistrate Adrian Darmanie when they re-appear in court on Monday to be sentenced for cheating at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) Communication Studies exam.
The two 18-year-olds pleaded guilty, at a previous hearing on July 23, to having prior knowledge of the exam paper. Darmanie, sitting in the Tunapuna Second Magistrate’s Court yesterday, signalled his intention to send a clear message that cheating in school examinations will not be tolerated. He deferred his sentencing to Monday, after hearing a mitigation plea from defence attorney Yaseen Ali at yesterday’s hearing. Darmanie stated that it was also new territory being explored in the criminal justice system.
The teens, both students of the St Augustine Community College, were arrested in May, just days after writing the Communication Studies exam which had been leaked before the date.
Under the CXC Act, under which they were charged, Joseph and Toney each face a maximum penalty of $1,000 and six-months imprisonment. If a conviction is recorded against them, Joseph and Toney may also be barred from writing any CXC examinations for five years.
According to the facts read out in court, Toney, of Chaguanas, was apprehended at his home on May 13 after Fraud Squad detective Acting Sgt Gilbert Kennedy received information from the Ministry of Education that the examination had been leaked.
Joseph, of Valsayn, was held three days later at his home. Both students confessed to having the Communication Studies examination on May 7 and studying the paper before they wrote the exam the following day.
They each gave statements, with Joseph stating he had not paid the $5,000 requested for the purchase of the exam paper, although he met face to face with the seller. Joseph added that the exam paper was received via an e-mail from the proposed seller.
After the facts were read in open court, Darmanie meticulously examined the confessions detailed in each of the caution statements.
In his mitigation plea, Ali said his clients had gone through their “short lives” without the influence of violent criminal activity and asked that no conviction be recorded against them.
“They have cut a path through this corruption in this country,” Ali said. But Darmanie countered Ali’s point, questioning the actions of the accused.
“What would bring an end to the corruption? Their actions?” he asked. According to Ali, his clients had done a “stupid thing” but made amends by not wasting the court’s time.
“Sir, sometimes bad things happen to good people, and sometimes intelligent people do stupid things,” said Ali. “Leave them unfettered.” Ali said the examination body had taken a lenient approach to the accused by allowing them to write the remainder of their exams following their arrest. But Darmanie again interjected: “It was only an allegation then.”
Apart from Joseph and Toney, ten other persons have since been charged with offences of having prior knowledge as well as larceny of the exam paper in the ordinary and advanced levels.
An investigator in the case yesterday said the exam paper was leaked and circulated electronically. Apart from emails, the exam paper was transmitted onto “pen drives”, which are mass storage data devices, and transferred to computers. The students easily saved the exam paper and forwarded it to peers. The investigation is still open and the search still continues for the seller, said the investigator.
