The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN faces up to 10 years in jail after being unanimously convicted by a Supreme Court jury of incest with his mother whom he held down and sexually assaulted for nearly six hours.

When asked by Justice Indra Charles yesterday if there was any reason why sentence should not be passed on him, the 33-year-old’s only reply was: “Appeal.”

However, his lawyer Dorsey McPhee, requested a probation report to be done on his client. The court granted the request and ordered the report and submissions from both defence and Crown counsel to be submitted a week before the day of sentencing, August 8.

Mr McPhee declined to comment on the outcome of the trial which saw the five woman-four man jury, in less than 90 minutes, return with a 9-0 guilty verdict.

The man, whose identity cannot be published for the protection of the complainant’s identity, was alleged to have committed the crime in their New Providence home on January 10, 2012 when he forced himself on his mother.

The complainant did not taken the witness stand during the trial. Instead, her statement was read into evidence by a female police officer who took her statement on the day in question.

According to evidence heard in court, the 65-year-old victim and her son went to bed after 10pm on January 9, both fully dressed. The woman slept in the bed and her son on a makeshift bed on the floor.

The woman said her son woke her around midnight, undressed her and had sex with her despite her attempts to push him away.

A physician testified that the 33-year-old had frequented hospital because of epileptic seizures.

The physician also read the contents of a medical report conducted on the complainant on the day in question.

The physician noted the woman, who was examined at 1pm, had suffered scrapes, cuts, bruising and bleeding to the vagina. Tenderness to the vagina and anus was also noted. However, no semen or discharge was found.

The report noted that the woman was experiencing feelings of disbelief, distraught and was withdrawn.

In his defence, the 33-year-old told a jury he had no knowledge of the incident and also denied ever having thoughts about having sex with his mother.

The defence had claimed that the defendant could not be blamed for what happened that night due a seizure. However, a physician who testified as a Crown witness said that a person could not have an erection during an epileptic seizure.