By Makeida Antonio
More witnesses will be called to the stand in the High Court today to give testimony in a case surrounding alleged sexual offences against a child.
A man will continue to face an indictment of two separate counts of a sex crime against a minor in 2018.
The Crown made an application to the court under the Evidence Special Provisions Amendment Act 2016 to allow the minor to testify via video in a secure courtroom and allow the presence of a worker from the Social Welfare Department during testimony.
The defendant’s attorney Cosbert Cumberbatch previously objected to his client facing two counts of the serious charge when it was initially reported in the case file as one incident. Cumberbatch also expressed concern that the complainant could have been coached while giving testimony in a separate courtroom.
However, the prosecution requested an amendment to the indictment to reflect that the offence allegedly took place on more than one occasion and Judge Colin Williams upheld the two counts of the offence.
The court technician also showed several angles of the courtroom where the alleged victim was providing testimony to prove that no one was coaching the minor.