Tobagonian gets 25 years for killing US teen

A 28-year-old Tobago man was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in jail for the fatal stabbing of an American teenager in Charlotteville in 2005. Sean Antoine, of Charlotteville, was convicted last month for killing 14-year-old Kitty Pepe, of Keene, New York. Sentence was deferred to yesterday by Justice Geoffrey Henderson in the Tobago High Court. Antione and Pepe had dated previously but had broken up before he repeatedly stabbed her on July 1, 2005 at the home where she had been staying with her mother in Charlotteville. The girl’s family previously said they were hoping Antoine would be sentenced to life in prison because of the violence of the attack.

During the sentencing yesterday, Henderson said Antoine did not deserve the lesser charge of manslaughter and the sentence was intended to send a message that it was inappropriate for men to be involved with underage girls. Following the hearing, Antoine’s attorney Wayne Sturge said he considered the sentence reasonable and did not plan to appeal, given that under the laws of T&T, his client will only serve approximately 14 years of the sentence. Antoine would serve 19 years out of the 25 years given, because he had already serve six years, in jail since the incident. Kitty was a student of the Speyside High School at the time of her death.