A fifty-one-year-old man’s alleged “cat calling” of a woman’s 12-year-old daughter led to both adults reportedly assaulting each other and they were each granted bail when they appeared before the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Gladstone Burnett, 51, and Aileen Forester were charged with assault and assault so as to cause actual bodily harm, respectively. Burnett pleaded not guilty and Forester pleaded guilty but after listening to her explanation the magistrate entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.
It is alleged that on May 28 Burnett and Forester assaulted each other.
Forester told the court that Burnett is usually at the neighbour’s house behind her drinking with his friend. The woman explained that Burnett and his friend would sit on the back stairs where they have a clear view of her yard. Burnett, she said, usually tries to attract her 12-year-old daughter’s attention with “cat calls”, she said.
According to the woman, she had reported the matter to the police several times but nothing was done about it. On the day in question, Forester said, she was on her way to work when she saw Burnett and decided to confront him about his behaviour towards her daughter. Forester said that after she told him about the problem he started to verbally abuse her and made aggressive hand gestures in her face. His fingers, she explained, jabbed her on the forehead and that is when she dealt him three lashes with her umbrella.
Burnett told the court that he and his friend have never troubled the woman’s daughter and it was Forester who had assaulted him.
Principal Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle placed Burnett and Forester on $7,000 and $15,000 bail, respectively. The matter was transferred to Court Four for June 30.
