A Port Mourant youth, who was on trial for the rape of a four-year-old, was yesterday freed of the charge after a jury found him not guilty.
Tevin McKenzie, 19, of Port Mourant, Corentyne, had been charged with rape and engaging in sexual activity with the four-year-old child.
However, after listening to the testimonies of thee witnesses during an in-camera trial at the Berbice Assizes, the jury deliberated for over an hour and returned a verdict of not guilty to the first count of rape.
It had been alleged that on July 8, 2015, in the County of Berbice, McKenzie engaged in sexual penetration of the child.
With respect to the second charge, which alleged that McKenzie touched the child’s anus, Justice Jo-Ann Barlow ordered the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty as there was no evidence to support the indictment.
Addressing McKenzie as he stood in the dock, Barlow said, “You are a very young man. You and your God and those who were there knew what happen that day. There is a long life ahead of you. Use this opportunity to do good.”
State Prosecutor Stacy Goodings had reported that the alleged victim did not take the witness stand as he had claimed that it was his mother who told him to say he was molested. The woman had testified to seeing the sexually assaulting the child but later contradicted herself during cross examination by defence counsel Tejnarine Ramroop.
