The man, Kevin Thomas, 33, was found guilty on two counts of sexual assault. He was also found guilty of breaching his bail condition and attempting to obstruct justice after he tried to bribe the victim with C$3,000 (J$262,000) to stop her from testifying against him.

THE STAR understands that Thomas and his wife as well as the victim, and her two children, a 2 1/2-year-old and 10-month-old all lived in the Scarborough home.

sentencing hearing

During the sentencing hearing on Thursday, prosecutor Simon Heeney urged Madam Justice Nancy Spies to impose the penitentiary sentence against Thomas.

On the other hand, Brad Pearson, the attorney representing the accused, argued that his client had a working visa for Canada, but was victimised by gang violence in Jamaica three weeks before he was set to leave. He also said that sometime later, the man accused of stabbing his client was shot and left in a wheelchair. This he said left rumours that Thomas was the gunman and fearing reprisals in Jamaica, he came to Canada in 2008 and claimed refugee status.

The defence lawyer told the judge that if Thomas received a penitentiary term he would be immediately deported once he finishes his jail term.

Pearson asked for either time served or only three or four months on top of his 305 days in custody, so that Thomas could stay in Canada.

Allegations are that on February 1, last year, about 5 a.m., the 23-year-old mother discovered Thomas in her darkened bedroom making sexual advances.

According to reports, she was lying horizontally across the bottom of the mattress while her kids were sleeping vertically at the top of the mattress. The court heard that despite her saying "no" more than 10 times, she relented and had sex with the accused.

"He is forcing her to have sex and knows she cannot really object loudly or she risks waking her children up and traumatising them," Heeney said during the sentencing hearing.