Entertainer Fined for Sexual Assault, Prosecution to Appeal Sentence

The prosecution has signalled its intention to appeal the sentence given to popular entertainer Harrison Horsford, known widely as Jesse Fyah, after he was ordered to pay a total of $8,000 for indecently assaulting a woman in 2020.

Horsford appeared for sentencing yesterday having remained behind bars since his conviction in May for indecent assault and serious indecency. He was ordered to pay the victim $5,000 in compensation, along with a $3,000 fine to the court.

The case centres on an incident from October 27, 2020, when the complainant, a young woman in her early twenties who had known Horsford for years, accepted a ride from him. The two had previously shared a casual relationship.

What was meant to be a simple ride turned into something else, the court heard. Horsford stopped first at his workplace, then drove without explanation toward Bolans, telling the complainant he needed to meet a man at Darkwood about a billboard. She agreed to go along.

No such meeting existed. When they reached Darkwood, Horsford stepped out, looked around, then returned to the car and began kissing the complainant without her consent. She fought him off. When she resisted, he grabbed her by the throat, exposed and touched her breasts, and forcibly touched her private area, telling her she belonged to him. She continued to demand that he take her home.

Instead, he told her to get out and walk.

Stranded on the roadside, the complainant flagged down a passing motorist, who later testified that she was in tears, visibly distressed, and clutching her clothing. The woman drove her directly to the Johnson Point Police Station.

At trial, Horsford gave an unsworn statement, which meant he could not be cross-examined. He claimed he had stopped only because he saw the complainant standing in the rain, and that their conversation had been friendly, centering on his offer to help her find a job. He alleged she later asked him for $3,000, which he refused, after which he dropped her off and had no further contact with her. He said the first sign of trouble came that evening, when she messaged him on Facebook accusing him of rape — a message he said he answered by warning her not to spread rumours or his lawyer would intervene.

The jury rejected his account, convicting him on both counts after deliberating for under an hour.

Horsford, who was 33 at the time of the offences, was remanded into custody immediately following the verdict, delivered before Justice Ann Marie Smith and was finally sentenced yesterday. The maximum penalty for the offences is five years.