The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

LAWYERS in the case of a man accused of sexually assaulting a minor for nearly two decades have been given more time to finalise ongoing discussions.

In a status hearing before Justice Vera Watkins yesterday, prosecutor David Cox informed the judge that the Supreme Court registry has received the disputed document bearing the attorney general’s authorisation concerning 50-year-old Prince Philip Rahming’s alleged sexual assault of a girl between April 1997 and February 2013.

Upon inspecting the document, the judge said she wished to have a discussion with the prosecutor and Rahming’s lawyer, Romona Farquharson-Seymour.

However, The Tribune was not privy to those discussions which lasted nearly 15 minutes.

The matter was then adjourned to October 13.

Rahming, who is on bail, was instructed to return to the Supreme Court on that date. While a conviction for the sexual assault of a minor carries a prison term of seven years for the first conviction and 14 years for a subsequent conviction, the court has the discretion to impose a stiffer penalty if the circumstances of the case merit a longer sentence.

The discretion, however, is restricted if a signed plea agreement exists between the Crown and lawyers for an accused that pleaded guilty to an offence in exchange for a mutually agreed sentence.