By LAMECH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
A PRELIMINARY inquiry will determine if there is sufficient evidence for a senior Immigration officer to stand trial in the Supreme Court on a rape charge.
Norman Bastian, 53, appeared before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt for a fixture hearing after his initial arraignment that resulted from an investigation launched into an alleged sexual assault against a woman immigrant. The incident was reported in the Gleaner of Jamaica.
The alleged assault is supposed to have occurred when the 28-year-old woman was released into the custody of an immigration officer on December 15. It was reported that the officer later took her to his home, where it is claimed that she was forced to have sex with him.
Bastian was informed in his arraignment before Magistrate Andrew Forbes on Thursday that the Crown would likely bypass a preliminary inquiry into the matter and fast-track the case to the Supreme Court for trial.
However, in yesterday’s status hearing, Bastian and defence counsel Roberto Reckley were informed by prosecutors that the matter will be heard in a preliminary hearing in the Magistrate’s Court. The hearing dates are May 28 and 29 and June 9 and 10.
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