The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN accused of serial rape faced court yesterday.

Oscar Ingraham, 28, was charged with six home invasions in which six women were robbed and sexually assaulted.

His pending cases were supposed to be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court for trial, but he returned in less than two weeks to the Magistrate’s Court to face additional charges.

However, Ingraham of Claridge Road, claimed he knew nothing about the new charges being put to him. He suggested that the police were framing him and that he was being victimised.

Ingraham, handcuffed and shackled, was flanked by police officers as he entered the court room to appear before Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez to face six charges each of burglary, armed robbery, and rape.

He also faced an additional charge of possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence, bringing the total number of criminal charges against him to 19.

The first claim is that Ingraham, between 11:30pm on October 27, 2011, and 4:30am on October 28, 2011, broke into a woman’s home on West Bay Street, armed with a firearm, and sexually assaulted her before robbing her off $195 in cash.

It is then claimed that between 10pm on February 28, and 1:30am on February 29, he broke into the home of two foreigners with status in the Bahamas, and robbed both of them of cash, cell phones, travel documents and government issued identification and work permits together valued at $3,325. The woman in this western New Providence home was sexually assaulted.

It is also alleged that Ingraham, in May, robbed and sexually assaulted a woman who is known in the political arena.

The incident is alleged to have happened between 11pm on May 29 and 5am May 30. It is alleged that he broke into the woman’s western New Providence home and robbed her of $165 cash and a $200 Nokia cell phone before sexually assaulting her.

It is also claimed that Ingraham is suspected by police of being the culprit behind a Yamacraw Estates home invasion on June 19 when a woman was raped.

He is also accused of another home invasion between 10:30pm on June 20 and 5am June 21 when a woman was robbed of $1,024 worth of cash and jewellery before being raped.

The last home invasion, armed robbery and rape is alleged to have occurred the following day on June 22 between the hours of 2am and 4am in a Windward Isles Way home. He was alleged to have had a firearm on that occasion.

Ingraham was not required to enter a plea to the charges against him. The chief magistrate informed him that his cases were being forwarded directly to the Supreme Court for trial through a Voluntary Bill of Indictment (VBI).

The Bill, which will be presented to him on March 7, 2013, speeds up the trial process.

Chief Magistrate Gomez granted Ingraham his request to speak.

“October 4, I was removed from Her Majesty’s Prison to CDU where I was forced by police officers to sign an electronic computer software…” he started before saying that he could not accurately explain what it was police made him put his signature to.

“I feel as if I am being victimized by the police,” Ingraham said before claiming that he had no knowledge of any of the 19 crimes of which he was being accused.

“I was told by officers that someone was using me for pleasing the public. But the public, I’d like them to know that I take these matters very seriously because these are dealing with people’s families I am being charged with. I don’t want them, especially females, to have no grudge against me for something I didn’t do,” he said.

Chief Magistrate Gomez told the accused that he had noted his claims for the record. He assured him that he need not worry about not having a fair trial.

Ingraham was remanded to prison. Because of the nature of the charges he is not eligible for bail in the magistrate’s court.

He returns to court on November 1 to face charges pending before yesterday’s arraignment. He will be served with a VBI in connection with two home invasions, robbery and rapes that occurred on June 4 and June 25.

Ingraham was not represented by a lawyer at yesterday’s proceeding.