Man faces court on unlawful sexual intercourse charge

A 27-year old of a western community faced the courts last week for having unlawful sexual intercourse and indecent assault of a girl under 14. State Attorney Clement Joseph called four witnesses to put forward the state's case before a jury of eight women and one man.

The second-former, now 14 years old, told the Roseau High Court presided over by Justice Birnie Stephenson, that the accused and her family were neighbours. They lived about 50 feet away from each other with the accused actually living in the house of the complainant's deceased great uncle. The accused lived with his girlfriend, son and stepdaughter.

In the summer holidays in 2011 the virtual complainant who was 12 years then was home watching television. Her mother asked her to go at the accused home for some ice. The girl went to the accused's home and knocked on his door. After about two minutes he opened the door to his apartment and he put his hand over her mouth. She kept on wrestling. He then assaulted her.

"He told me when I go home I should take a cold shower and if I ever tell anyone about this or let him take prison, he will kill my sister, my mommy, and he will burn our house down", she said to the court. "I went home as if nothing happened".

The mother of six including the victim in turn told the court that in January of 2011 her daughter did not want to go to school. She spoke to her, said nothing and started crying.

"I comb(ed) her hair, she got dressed, took her bag and she left."

The mother felt something was not right and went to the school, and there she spoke with principal. She went back to her home, got dressed and went back on the road and there she met the principal and her daughter going to the health centre. The three went to the health centre where a nurse examined the schoolgirl.

The girl had not gone to school when she left her home but instead went to an aunt's home in the community; because on that day, students in the common entrance class had to have a medical examination. She did not tell her mother about the medical examination because she was afraid.

A welfare officer next came to the school to talk to the girl a day or two later.

Woman Police Constable Kymora Thomas-Theodore was duty in the criminal investigations department at Police Headquarters in Roseau on Tuesday April 26, 2011 when the report of unlawful sexual intercourse came and she was assigned to investigate the matter. She met the girl and her mother on Monday May 16, 2011, and had the girl examined by Dr Gavin Seaman in the Accident & Emergency Department at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

WPC Theodore met the accused at the CID on June 26, 2011. She told him that she was investigating a report of unlawful sexual intercourse. He said, ok. He also agreed to be questioned.

In a statement from the prisoners' dock, the 27-year old accused said he started living in the neighbourhood of the virtual complainant's family about July 2010 with his girlfriend, son and stepdaughter. It was three to four months before his family became friends with their new neighbours, and then they began coming for ice, sugar and other groceries. He helped train the school's football team and it was that association which led to a rift between himself and the virtual complainant's family-the girl stopped coming to his home. He later got arrested for unlawful sexual intercourse.

"I don't know about that. I never did. I never made any move on her. I respected her as my own child," he said.