The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A 53-year-old former police officer was acquitted of incest charges yesterday after his daughter accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021.

The defendant, whose name is being withheld to protect the complainant’s identity, appeared relieved as a nine-person jury — comprising five men and four women — unanimously returned a not guilty verdict.

The trial, presided over by Justice Gregory Hilton, featured testimony from nine witnesses.

According to the complainant, who was born in 2009 and was ten at the time of the alleged incident, the assault happened on the night of March 12, 2021.

She testified that she was using the bathroom when she saw her father watching her. After she finished, she claimed he entered the room, removed both of their clothing and compelled her to perform oral sex on him before pinning her to the floor and engaging in sexual intercourse against her will. She said she was unable to scream because he covered her mouth, and that afterward he told her not to inform her mother. She also testified that he did not use a condom.

The complainant told the court that the day after the alleged incident, she felt sad and confused, uncertain why her father would want to harm her.

She said she did not believe he hated her or wished to use her as a “sex object.” She reportedly disclosed the assault to her mother the following morning, saying her father had “touched” her and put “his thing” in her.

The court heard that the complainant later recanted her allegations after she and her mother signed a withdrawal statement at the Department of Public Prosecutions. She said she did so because she wanted to keep the family together. She claimed that when she was in the car with her father, he asked her to lie for him.

The complainant testified that she ultimately came forward again in 2022, maintaining that the assault had indeed occurred. She said that she no longer views the defendant as her father, but rather as a stranger, although she still loves him and wanted justice.

During cross-examination, the complainant denied making up the allegations and rejected the defence’s suggestion that her babysitter’s husband was the one who assaulted her. Her mother testified that she believed her daughter’s account.

She said she no longer trusts the defendant or any man around her daughter and that the day after the alleged incident she noticed the girl’s genital area appeared “open” with a white discharge, redness, and cuts.

She said she later took her daughter to a doctor and moved out of the defendant’s home.

A text exchange between the defendant and his wife reportedly showed him stating that he had “troubled” his daughter but was trying to protect his family.

On March 15, 2021, Dr Inga Pratt examined the complainant. She testified that she observed a laceration at the posterior vaginal opening and a torn hymen, injuries most likely caused by sexual activity. Dr Pratt also noted that the hymen commonly tears during intercourse and that the complainant’s vaginal bleeding was consistent with the onset of menstruation. She prepared a rape kit, which was submitted to police.

The defendant maintained his innocence, describing himself as a good father who spent time with his children and took them to the beach. He noted that he had 11 other children and served as a police detective for eight years.

He claimed to have confronted the babysitter’s husband about the alleged assault and insisted there was an error in the text message, stating he had actually said, “I know I didn’t trouble her.”

He further asserted that he never evaded police, never forced his wife or daughter to drop the charges and that the allegations were fabricated by his daughter to preserve his troubled marriage. Calling the charges “ridiculous,” he said his life had “gone down the drain” since the accusations were made.

The prosecution’s team consisted of Royann Forbes, Cara Butler Whyte, and Tanisha Forbes. The defendant’s attorney was Mario Gray.