Saint Catherine man freed from charges of sexual assault on minor

Ongoing case in Saint Catherine Parish Court came to final verdict in which accused of sexual assault on a teenager was released.

20th of July 2024

Saint Catherine man freed from charges of sexual assault on minor. Image Credit: India Today

Jamaica: The ongoing case in the Saint Catherine Parish Court came to the final verdict in which a man who was accused of the offence of sexual assault on a teenager was released after the trial. The accused is freed of all the charges laid on him following a successful no-case submission after the appearance on Friday, 19 July. The man was booked by the authorities after the incident was reported in the year 2022.

The case was against a father who was facing the allegation of sexually abusing his own minor daughter. The individual who was fighting against the allegation of sexual assault of a minor is mentioned in the reports as a 40-year-old man. Meanwhile, the minor victim was reported in the case as a 14-year-old girl. Both sides of the sexual assault case belong to the Saint Catherine parish of Jamaica.

The case of sexual assault took place in Saint Catherine, which was rooted two years ago in 2022. The alleged criminal act of sexual grooming and molestation of the minor girl was explored by the mother of the teenage victim. After the mother got to know about the brutality on her child, she registered a complaint, after which the accused man was taken into custody.

As per the reports on the sexual assault case, the man was declared guilty by the judge of the Saint Catherine Parish Court after the undisputed arguments of attorney Chadwick Berry. The attorney raised his points in the court, which disclosed that the noted statement given by the witness against the accused man was full of lies.

It is mentioned in the reports that the request was made in the court from the side of the accused that the man must not be summoned to answer the charges. The accused man was facing multiple charges in the case, including child abuse, sexual touching of a child, grievous sexual assault, and indecent assault, for he was present in Saint Catherine Parish Court.

The investigation against the man was conducted by the officers of the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse after the crime was reported in 2022. On Friday, after hearing the arguments of the accused side and getting an unsatisfied counter from the complainant side, the judge of the parish court gave his final verdict in the case. The verdict went in favour of the accused man, who was released from the charges and was freed.