The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Supreme Court heard voice recordings allegedly of a father accused of incest, in which he appeared to apologise to his daughter for years of alleged sexual abuse and molestation.

The recordings, sent by WhatsApp to the alleged victim’s phone in late 2020, were later forwarded to a lead police investigator in March 2021.

The father is facing five counts of incest allegedly committed between September 2015 and July 2019 in both Abaco and Freeport. The abuse reportedly began when the complainant was ten years old and continued into her early teens.

 In the recordings played in court, a male voice, allegedly that of the accused father, expressed remorse, claiming he was not in his right mind if the abuse had occurred. He suggested that external forces may have influenced his actions, said he had no memory of what happened, and repeatedly apologised.

 During testimony last week, the court heard that the victim’s cellphone, which contained the voice recordings and a journal documenting the alleged abuse, was handed over to police but could no longer be found.

 Corporal 3653 Andrea Duncanson, the lead investigator at the time, testified last Friday. Now attached to the Financial Intelligence Unit in New Providence, she recalled receiving the victim’s phone and journal and securing them in an evidence drawer at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Abaco. However, she said the items were no longer in police possession.

 On Thursday, the Crown called Detective Sergeant 2955 Mario Rahming, an expert in digital retrieval and extraction from the Digital Forensic Unit at CID. He testified that on March 7, 2025, he received three voice notes from CPL Duncanson, which she had sent to him via WhatsApp. He then downloaded the recordings onto a CD, marked it with his initials, and entered it as exhibit BB3.

 During cross-examination, Sgt Rahming admitted that he could not confirm whose voice was in the recordings or when they were made.

  Officer Recalls Retrieving Voice Notes

 The Crown recalled CPL Duncanson, who gave evidence virtually. She testified that after appearing in court on March 7, she searched her phone and found three voice notes the victim had sent her on March 30, 2021. She then forwarded them to Sgt Rahming with further instructions.

 Under cross-examination, CPL Duncanson confirmed that during the investigation, she played the voice notes for the accused during a recorded interview, using the victim’s phone.

 Defence attorney Mr Hanna pressed the officer, pointing out that the recordings played in court came from her phone rather than directly from the victim’s device.

 CPL Duncanson acknowledged this, but maintained that the time stamp confirmed the victim had sent them to her on March 30, 2021 via WhatsApp.

“You will agree that beyond a reasonable doubt or any level of certainty, you can’t prove it came from the victim’s phone?” Mr Hanna asked.

 The officer disagreed.

 When asked if she knew the victim’s cellphone number, CPL Duncanson said she could not recall but had documented it in her case diary, which she did not have with her at the time.

 Jurors asked CPL Duncanson whether she knew what the victim had texted her father before he sent the voice messages. She could not recall the exact wording, but said the victim confronted him about the years of abuse.

 In the recording played in court, the father allegedly said:

*”Honey, honey, baby, baby, that shit hurt me so bad. You know for sure if that shit ever happened, you know Daddy was not in his right mind. If it happened for real, you should know I was not in my right mind.

“Forces of people trying to put things in your mind to get rid of you. If that shit occurred, I was never in my right mind. I am very much sorry, forever. You don’t know how serious this force is. It come over me. Something just come over me and I don’t remember what happened.”*

 The complainant, now 19 years old, testified that she had texted her father via WhatsApp in late 2020, asking why he did what he did to her.

 She said he did not respond immediately, but replied later that same day.

 When prosecutor Sean Norville-Smith asked how she could identify the voice in the recordings, she said it was her father’s, adding that she recognised it instantly.

 She also testified that she sent the recordings to CPL Duncanson a few days after giving her police statement on March 26, 2021.

 During cross-examination, Mr Hanna questioned the victim about why she had not mentioned the voice notes in her initial testimony.

 She said the events had taken place some time ago and she did not remember.

 “After you had texted and gotten recorded voice notes at the end of 2020, three months later you gave a statement and did not inform police about the text and voice notes in your possession?” Mr Hanna asked.

 “No, sir,” she replied.

Defendant to Remain Silent

 After the Crown closed its case, the defendant informed the court that he intends to remain silent.

 Closing arguments will be presented on Friday.