Jury finds man not guilty of raping relative

Oct 19, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – A jury at the Suddie High Court yesterday unanimously found a man, 27, not guilty of raping his 18-year-old female relative.
The defendant identified as Troy Tulsaram was represented by attorney-at-law, Jerome Khan. He was charged with rape in April 2018 and had been committed to stand trial at the Suddie High Court located on the Essequibo Coast Region 2.
The matter was heard last Thursday and Friday by Justice Priya Sewnarine Beharry, while yesterday, it was set aside for formation and deliberation by the jury.
Following their deliberation, the jury unanimously found that Tulsaram was innocent of the charge laid against him. The man’s relative had made allegations that he had raped his relative on April 23, 2018, during a visit to her home located at lot 128 Richmond New Housing Scheme, Essequibo.
She claimed that earlier that day Tulsaram had called out for her while she was walking along Henrietta Street, Essequibo. He was at the time delivering goods in a truck for his employer. The young woman said that she had responded to his call and had gone over to meet him. They reportedly had a conversation and she even gave him a chocolate.
Later that day, the woman claimed, Tulsaram had visited her home with the knowledge that her mother was not around. He allegedly asked her for some food and she told had him that there was none. She continued her claims by stating that after checking the pots for himself he decided to leave but before doing so he asked her for a hug.
While giving him the hug, the young woman alleged that Tulsaram kissed her and she had told him to stop because she had just kissed her boyfriend. She claimed that Tulsaram then grabbed her hands and forced her into a room where he raped her for some two minutes before hurriedly leaving her home.
Tulsaram’s had denied the allegation and his lawyer, Khan, had argued that the prosecution had not presented the court with any proof or evidence to convict the defendant. The medical report for the victim was reportedly inconclusive and showed that she sustained no injuries consistent with that of rape. Khan pointed out too that the victim had no black or blue marks or other marks of violence as well to indicate that his client had forced himself on her.
Tulsaram, through his lawyer, had told the court that it was his relative who had invited him to her home that day for some brotherly advice. The victim had told him that she had gotten into some trouble and wanted to speak with him about the matter. He claimed that he had told her that he was busy and they agreed to meet up at her home that afternoon.
Tulsaram said that when he arrived there, he did not enter her home but spoke with her outside. He related too that the victim had disclosed to him that she had unprotected sex with her boyfriend and was afraid that she might have been impregnated and had sought counsel from him as to what to do.
Tulsaram claimed that he told her that the best thing for her to do was to relate the matter to her mother and then he left.
While being questioned by his attorney, the woman admitted that indeed she was seeking his advice on a matter after Tulsaram had spotted a hickey on her body and asked her about it. When asked if she had tried to scream or fight back with Tulsaram, while he was allegedly raping her, the woman responded that she could not because she “froze and was in a state of shock”.
Khan attempted to convince the jury that a “state of shock only lasts a short while before” a victim reacts to his or her attacker. After listening to both sides, the jury deliberated and decided that Tulsaram never raped his relative.

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