Four men, including three accused of raping children, were yesterday freed of the sexual offence charges against them after the state disclosed that the respective complainants could not be located over a number of years.
Last week, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, who is presiding over the Sexual Offences Court at the High Court in Georgetown, had noted that after perusing the present list of cases for trials in the current session she observed that there were matters dating back as far as 1999. Consequently, she advised that matters with committal dates between 1999 and 2013 be presented for trial or disposal before revisiting the list. She pointed out that this was aimed at sanitising the list, which appears to include a number of dated matters.
The state subsequently advised the judge that of the 145 listed matters, 23 fell within the stated period. A report was given on each. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), it was revealed, had indicated that her office would not proceed with prosecution in nine of the matters. The jury was also directed to return a not guilty verdict against one man last week after the state reported that the complainant could not be located.
