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SOURCE: ANTIGUA OBSERVER- A 42-year-old construction worker is currently facing a charge of after being accused of inappropriately touching a minor in March 2022. The alleged incident occurred when the accused was 39 and the girl was only 10 years old.
According to court testimony, the Jamaican man had been living, as a tenant with the child, her mother, and her two younger brothers for six months before the indecent assault .
The mother, who is also a Jamaican, was struggling to pay rent and bills after the birth of her last child, and invited him to share her home as a roommate, trusting him due to his connection with her child’s father and other mutual friends. He agreed to rent the room for $450 per month.
During the trial, the prosecution alleged that the man placed his hand on the child’s bottom or thigh area and kissed her near her lip.
The child testified that on the evening of March 29, 2022, she was sitting in the living room on her younger brother’s bed when the accused entered and sat on her bed.
She initially believed he was looking at the computer but soon realized he was staring at her. “He just stared at me and I thought he was looking at the computer,” she said.
She stated that he moved closer, brushing against her hand before asking her to wake him at 5:30am. the following day.
When she declined, explaining that her mother usually wakes her up for school, he fell silent before allegedly asking for a kiss.
“He was silent for a while then he asked me for a kiss,” she recalled. “I was confused,” she told the court.
At the time this was happening, the mother was in her room speaking to her partner on the phone.
The child said she then pretended to go to the bathroom but instead went into her mother’s room and began crying.
After learning what had transpired, the mother became enraged and confronted the accused with a machete before he hastily packed some belongings and left the house. She then called friends for support and contacted the police.
The defendant, who had to represent himself in court after his lawyer withdrew at the last minute, appeared to struggle with understanding the legal proceedings and had difficulty formulating questions for witnesses.
At the end of the prosecution’s case, the judge made several attempts to explain to the man his rights to testify. She had to resort to speak in Jamaican dialect to ensure that he understood his options.
The man finally decided to give a sworn statement, opening himself up to questioning from the court.
His account of the events changed multiple times throughout the trial.
Initially, he denied touching the child but later told police he had touched her foot, specifically pointing to the area behind the knee.
However, in court, he claimed he had only touched her shoulder.
When questioned by the prosecutor, Curtis Cornelius, about the inconsistencies in his statements, the accused remained silent, only asserting that he was telling the truth.
The man told the court he believed that the child’s mother wanted him to leave the house before the incident, though neither he nor the mother admitted to having a tumultuous relationship.
The court questioned why he thought it was appropriate to ask the child to wake him and not the mother, as well as why he didn’t opt to use his phone’s alarm.
During the proceedings, special measures were implemented to protect the child from seeing the accused while giving her testimony.
As the trial nears its conclusion, the judge is expected to deliver a summation on Wednesday before the jury deliberates on a verdict.
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Time will tell ….
Absolutely disgusting. If guilty, he should face the full force of the law.
These cases are becoming too frequent! Stronger laws are needed.
Heartbreaking to hear. I hope the victim gets the support they need.
what is wrong with these men? why does children attract them soo much????? This is just so disgusting
No child should have to go through something like this. Justice must be served.
Parents, please talk to your children and educate them about personal safety.
She was willing to put her child at risk for 450 a month. If he woulda put another 500 inna she hand every month she woulda keep quiet.
He will go on to become a prominent member of UPP. IAN MAGIC HUGHES can even book him for radio
Little Kim reported that she was sexually assaulted by some Klansmen of the ruling party and the Kingpin at that time even admitted to the act on a recording done by Asot Michael and she was given some hush money and an airline ticket and that was the end of the matter. Antigua is the only place in the universe that ever had a Bruck Foot Industry.