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2008 attack on nurses at Wismar Hospital…Linden man freed of rape charge
An accused rapist walked free yesterday after a mixed panel of jurors found him not guilty of the offence before Justice Navindra Singh at the Georgetown High Court.
Freed: Wesley Carlos Payne, called “Piggie
Wesley Carlos Payne, called “Piggie”, 46, of Christiansburg Wismar, Linden was charged with raping a nurse at the Wismar Hospital in Linden on September 10, 2008.
The incident allegedly took place during the furtherance of a robbery. Payne was charged with both offences. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Payne underwent a week of trial before the Judge and Jury. Reports had indicated Payne forcefully gained access to the Casualty Ward of the Hospital Complex, where two female nurses were on duty. He allegedly robbed one of the nurses before ordering them to the back of the hospital, where he raped the other nurse.
During the trial, Payne who was unrepresented by legal counsel brought into question the absence of several key witnesses and the authenticity of the Caution Statement, (CS) the police produced to the court. He denied giving the police a statement on the matter.
In his defence, Payne had noted that the Police witness who tendered the medical certificate could not speak to its authenticity or explain truthfully the information contained in the document.
Payne noted, too, that the victims recalled that their attacker wore a mask – his face was covered except for his eyes and he had what appeared to be dried sores on his chest. In his sworn testimony before the court, Payne denied the allegation. He told the court that he was not present at the hospital at the time the offence was committed.
The accused gave the court an account of an incident during which he was arrested and tortured by the police over allegations of some stolen AK47 guns.
Payne told the court that it was after he was arrested that he was accused of the rape.
“I know nothing about the incident,” Payne stated adamantly while under cross-examination by State Attorneys, Siand Dhurjon.
Dhurjon represented the State in association with Prosecutors Tuanna Hardy and Tomieka Clarke. When the trial began on Monday, the victims of the attack recounted their experiences.
The first witness, a nurse, recounted the chilling ordeal of being raped by a masked stranger in the paediatric ward of the Wismar Hospital. The second nurse later detailed that she was on duty with her colleague at around 1:15 in the morning of September 10, 2008, when there was a knock on the door of the Casualty Ward of the Complex.
She recalled that a stranger presented himself at the door.
Within a short space of time, the witness said that the man forced himself into the ward.
“A gray jersey covered his face; only his eyes were visible. He had something in his hands; it was wrapped in an orange jersey.”
The woman said that the intruder was also wearing blue three-quarter pants and a pair of white sneakers.
The witness noted that the man was topless,” and there were several blackish spots which appeared to be sore marks on his chest.
She said that the man demanded the DVD player, a cell phone, and jewellry that she had in her possession before ordering them to the back of the hospital, where they were placed on the floor.
The intruder allegedly raped her colleague at the back of the hospital.
The woman said the ordeal lasted for about five to eight minutes and her friend was placed on the ground again.
Questioned by the jury about the intruder, the woman said that she remembers his voice; it matched that of the accused.
In his summing up of the trial yesterday, Justice Singh noted that portion of evidence can be considered weak, given that the voice recognition cannot be enough to tie someone to a crime.
Before discharging Payne, the Judge told that the man that given his criminal history, he should do his best to stay out of trouble.
“You have been given another chance,” Justice Singh said before bidding the former accused “good luck,” and then releasing him.
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