a 14-year-old girl unconscious and then raped her.

"Although the sentence is not one which we might have imposed in the circumstances, we cannot say that it is so manifestly inadequate that we should interfere and impose a different sentence,'' Appeals Court President the Hon. Sir James Astwood said yesterday in a written judgment.

Jermaine O. Simmons, 18, of Sandys, pleaded guilty in October to committing rape and doing grievous bodily harm on May 9, 1994.

Crown Counsel Mr. Khamisi Tokunbo had asked for a sentence of seven to ten years, but Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Meerabux imposed a five-year sentence.

The court was told the girl and her sister were on their way home from a reggae concert at the Prison Officers Club in Sandys when they "got into a heated argument and parted company at about 2 a.m.'' Simmons approached the girl outside Arnold's Supermarket, and although she did not know him, she accepted a ride.

Instead of taking her home, Simmons turned onto the railway trail and demanded sex.

When the girl refused, he pushed her onto a bench and pinned her down. She eventually broke free and asked for help from two passing men. Simmons told the men the girl was lying. Instead of helping the girl, they told her to walk down to the main road near the Lantana Colony Club and rode off, leaving her at the mercy of Simmons, Sir James said.

Simmons caught the girl, punched her in the face and pushed her over an embankment. There, he tore off her clothes, beat her unconscious, and raped her.

The girl was treated for swelling and soreness to the face and extensive cuts and bruises over her body.

Simmons later told Police he had attended the same reggae session, where he had 20 drinks of vodka and tequila.

Mr. Tokunbo argued the five-year sentence was "manifestly inadequate.'' The judge failed to consider aggravating factors like premeditation, the victim's age, the violence used, the length of time over which the attack occurred, and the fact the girl was raped while she was unconscious.

Although Simmons saved the victim the trauma of testifying by pleading guilty, a last-minute plea in the face of overwhelming evidence carried little weight.

Mr. Archibald Warner, representing Simmons, had argued before the Court of Appeal that the violence used was the only aggravating factor. There was no evidence that the attack was planned.