By Latrishka Thomas
A jury unanimously found a man guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl.
The accused, 34, was on trial before Justice Ann-Marie Smith over the past few days. Jurors deliberated for three hours before reaching their verdict.
The conviction is in relation to an incident that occurred on August 1 2020 when the victim – the defendant’s second cousin – was picked up by her father and taken to the home of a relative.
The visit was intended for her to spend time with one of her cousins.
The home also housed the accused, then 31 years old, along with his spouse.
When the victim’s father left the house, the accused went into the girl’s room and had sexual intercourse with her in a very quick encounter.
Later he apologised to her, but she reported the incident four days later, prompted by her parents confronting her about leaving the house and lying to her mother about going out with her father.
She explained that she felt troubled by the incident and needed to get out of the house, so she claimed she was visiting a friend.
The accused refuted the allegation of rape but informed the police that he had noticed the young girl was not wearing underwear and became aroused. But he claimed he left the room.
He also explained to them that he had a low sex drive so he felt confused, needing to compose himself before departing.
The jury, however, was unconvinced finding him guilty of rape on Monday.
He will be sentenced on June 14.
