Hung Jury in Corentyne carnal knowledge trial

Sep 13, 2012 News

Steven Alert of Number 35 Village Corentyne, Berbice, who was on trial for having carnal knowledge of a girl under 15 years, will have to face a judge and jury again after his trial ended in a hung jury. The incident allegedly occurred on March 3, 2009.
Alert was on trial in the Berbice High Court before Justice James Bovell-Drakes and a mixed jury.
State Prosecutor, Rhondel Weever, had told the court that on the day of the incident the Virtual Complainant (VC), who was 14 at the time, was living with her mother, brothers and sister at Number 35 Village, Corentyne, Berbice. The accused lived in the said community and had shared a common law relationship with a relative of the complainant.
On March 3, 2009, about midday, the VC was at home with her younger sibling. Alert subsequently sent the sibling out on an errand.
The accused then sent the teen to one of the bedrooms to get the pillow and sheet. While she was in the process of getting the things the accused followed her and threw her on a bed and had sexual intercourse with her. The matter was reported to a relative and the alleged victim was taken to the Number 51 Police Station, where a report was made. The teen was then taken to the Skeldon Public Hospital where she was medically examined.
The prosecutor had stated that the complainant was 14 years, and under the law she is incapable of giving consent to sexual intercourse. The matter was reported and following investigation the accused was arrested and charged.
Four witnesses testified, including the teen’s mother, the teen, woman Sergeant Vilma Saul and woman Detective Corporal Rosanne Frank.
During the trial the judge had ordered Detective Corporal Frank to furnish the records after the witness and the accused had disagreed on certain dates and information during her evidence. The Judge had made the order after the accused denied that he had given the caution statement to the investigator on March 3, 2009. He had said it was given the previous day.
However, the officer was unable to produce the records, including the Station Diary, Charge Sheet, Occurrence and the Crime Books related to the investigation of Steven Alert.
Alert, who is representing himself, had also disagreed with certain information given by the witness. The accused suggested that what was written in the statement was not exactly what he had given, as there were additional words.
Sergeant Saul in her evidence had denied that the accused asked to be taken to see the doctor. She also stated that the accused was taken at 15:45 hrs and not 17:30hrs as he is suggesting. Corporal Frank in her evidence in chief had recalled that the accused had chosen to give a written statement.
He had stated, “Yesterday, March 2, 2009, me and ‘Shorty’ was alone at home, and she made advances to me. She lay on the bed and pulled me upon her. I felt nice.
I placed my penis into her vagina, and she started to cry and I stopped .She got up and went outside , and reported to her Aunt Alexis, who in company with others came and quarreled and thereafter took me to the police station with ‘Shorty ‘.I am sorry for what happened”.
In an unsworn statement from the dock the accused had denied knowing about the incident which led to him being charged.
Alert had told the court from the dock that “I don’t know anything about the incident that happened. I told Corporal Frank I don’t know anything. I never had sex with the girl’.

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Hung Jury in Corentyne carnal knowledge trial

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