Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A 47-year-old mechanic from Arima has been acquitted of molesting his teenage stepdaughter on two occasions.
The man, whose identity has been withheld because of his relationship to the alleged victim and the outcome of the case, was found not guilty of two sexual offences at the conclusion of his trial before Justice Nalini Singh on Monday.
He had been charged with sexual touching of a child and inciting a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity.
The offences were alleged to have occurred at a spring in Blanchisseuse and at the family’s home on consecutive days in December 2021.
The trial began at the Hall of Justice in Port-of Spain last Monday. Prosecutors led evidence from the alleged victim, her mother, several police officers involved in the investigation, and the owner of the vehicle allegedly used to transport the teenager to the spring.
Under cross-examination by defence attorney Russell Warner, the police officer who led the investigation admitted that he never visited the spring where the first offence was alleged to have occurred and could not say whether the location was secluded.
He also acknowledged that he did not interview neighbours or residents of the apartment building where the man and the alleged victim lived, despite allegations that the second incident took place on a couch outside the apartment.
The officer further accepted that he neither sought DNA evidence nor requested forensic analysis. He also admitted that he did not interview the alleged victim’s brother, who was reportedly in the same room before the man allegedly woke her and committed the second offence.
While testifying, the alleged victim admitted that, before making the allegations, the man had confronted her about allegedly stealing $19,500 from him over a period of time.
She also acknowledged that he had confiscated her tablet and that she feared he would discover inappropriate messages she had posted online and report them to her mother.
Warner argued that these circumstances gave the teenager a powerful motive to fabricate the allegations against his client.
After hearing the evidence and closing submissions from both the prosecution and defence, the nine-member jury deliberated for 40 minutes before returning unanimous not guilty verdicts on both charges.
The man was subsequently discharged.
He was represented by Warner and Kashif Gibson. The prosecution was led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Dylan Martin, along with prosecutors Josiah Soo Hon and Khi Cambridge.
