La Parfaite Harmonie disc jockey (DJ) Roger Gibbons who prosecutors say pretended to be the well-known DJ Ace—and who allegedly lied to a young woman about being able to offer her a modelling job before raping her—has been found not guilty.
Acquitted on this his second rape charge in the last year, trial Judge Sandil Kissoon had a message for Gibbons—to desist from finding himself in conflict with the law—and to take this latest acquittal as guidance from God.
Following hours of deliberations yesterday afternoon, a 12-member jury unanimously found Gibbons not guilty of the charge which alleged that he had raped the young woman on June 1st of 2020.
She was 20 years old at the time.
Prosecutor Nafeeza Baig had told the court that as she walked along the Parika bus park at Vreed-en-Hoop at about 10 in the morning in question, the complainant encountered Gibbons who also goes by the name Roger Gibson.
The young woman granted his request to hear him out on what he wanted to say and as Baig puts it, it was then that Gibbons “sold dreams” to the complainant of having a modelling job for her, adding that he was doing a promotional video for his birthday.
All that the young woman needed to do the court heard Gibbons had related to her, was to go to his house where other persons for the modelling gig would have been, including the mother of his child.
The complainant agreed and they both set off in a taxi to Gibbons’ residence.
The court heard that on the way, Gibbons asked the young woman to pay for the taxi as all he had with him at the time was US currency.
Once they arrived at the house, the complainant related in her testimony that she saw no other woman there, but that all Gibbons did repeatedly was discuss the modelling role with her, while complaining about his child’s mother being late.
The court heard that the man also fumed about the mother of his child having his cell phone and as result, he borrowed the complainant’s phone with which he purported to make calls to plan his promotional birthday video.
A call was then placed to a “Dexter” who subsequently showed up at the residence and things took a turn when that person offered the complainant $800,000 to have sex with him the court heard.
After those advances were rebuffed, Baig said that Dexter verbally abused the complainant, telling her that she was stupid and needed to “elevate” herself; but the young woman the court heard, reminded Gibbons of the reason she was there in the first place.
As it got late, and realizing that the plans Gibbons told her about had seeming fallen through, prosecutor Baig said the complainant told him that she was going home; but he insisted that she stay the night as she would be late for the shoot the next day.
The court heard that it was at this time that Gibbons told the young woman to remove her clothes and go to bed, but she declined, stating that she does not sleep without clothing. His response to her, the court was told, was that she “was behaving like a child.”
Baig said that the complainant was then given a shirt to sleep in and she went on to the bed and turned away from the accused, facing the wall, when she felt him come up behind her. It was at that time she said that he forced himself on her and eventually sexually assaulted her as she tried to fend him off.
The young woman had related to the court that thereafter, Gibbons cursed and chased her.
In her closing address to the jury, Baig asked the jury to see through what she said were Gibbons’ lies and schemes which he took as far as pretending to be someone else.
She recalled the testimony of Alex Estwick—the real DJ Ace who works with the radio station Hits and Jams 94.1—who had been called by the prosecution as a witness to confirm that the accused was not him.
Estwick also told the court that Gibbons did not and had never worked for 94.1
Gibbons had been exposed when asked a question in Spanish and was unable to respond. The real DJ Ace the court learnt, speaks Spanish.
“The knock off one apparently does not,” Baig had told the jury in her closing address.
Baig said that “caught in a big fat lie,” Gibbons’ only resolve at that moment was that “there were two DJ Ace.”
The trial proceedings were heard in-camera at the Sexual Offences Court of the High Court in Demerara.
Gibbons was represented by attorney Ronald Bostwick.
Two moths before the allegation on which Gibbons was acquitted yesterday, he was also accused of raping another woman.
According to information reported to the police, Gibbons on April 5th, 2020 had told the woman he would be showing her an apartment to rent.
When they entered the house, however, he was alleged to have locked the door and raped her.
That woman had also told the police that she had been kept in the building for three days before she made contact with a family member who rescued her.
Last year, Gibbons was acquitted of that charge as well.
