The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

WENDY Fox, the former Grand Bahama head of Family of All Murdered Victims (FOAM), launched a profanity-laced tirade outside the Supreme Court after her son was refused bail on charges of raping an 18-year-old woman, accusing authorities of targeting him as part of a personal attack on her.

Ms Fox, who lost her FOAM role in August after she went online to defend the man at the centre of the rape investigation, was escorted into the Downtown Police Station by officers as she continued to vent her anger.

Her son, Romeo Alexander Storr Jr, 26, was refused bail by Senior Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson. The judge found that he, or people acting on his behalf, had already tried to contact and intimidate the alleged victim, and that no bail conditions could stop further interference.

In a video of the outburst that has been widely shared on Facebook, Ms Fox, with police officers nearby, repeatedly demands to know why her son was refused bail and claims the decision was based on WhatsApp messages. She asks how her son could have been messaging anyone while behind bars, insists she had no reason to contact anyone and declares that she knows her child.

Swearing repeatedly, she dismisses the allegations, at one point saying she did not “give a f***”, and calls the justice system corrupt.

Ms Fox headed FOAM’s Grand Bahama division until August, when the organisation severed ties with her with immediate effect. It said she was no longer authorised to conduct business, organise activities or collect donations on its behalf. FOAM had initially said it would leave the matter to police, but it moved against Ms Fox after she publicly defended the man at the centre of the investigation. That investigation had intensified after disturbing voice notes describing a sexual encounter with an apparently incapacitated woman went viral. Ms Fox responded to the decision and to criticism of her stance in several Facebook posts, some of which were later deleted.

In her judgment dated November 6, Justice Grant-Thompson said she was particularly concerned by an affidavit from the woman detailing the alleged interference. It included numerous telephone calls from Storr and people acting on his behalf. The woman also alleged that a video circulated after the incident by Storr or his agents had left her embarrassed and humiliated.

“The Virtual Complainant is in fear,” Justice Grant-Thompson said, “there should have been no contact with her; the courts are here to resolve the concerns of the Virtual Complainant.”

The judge said there was evidence that Storr or his agents would interfere with prosecution witnesses if he were released.

She gave three main reasons for refusing bail: the seriousness of the charge and possible sentence, the absence of any unreasonable delay in bringing the case to trial, and the risk of further interference with the alleged victim.

Justice Grant-Thompson found that a rape conviction, which carries a sentence ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment, created a risk that Storr would abscond to avoid trial.

Storr had argued that he was a suitable candidate for bail. He said he turned himself in to police after learning he was wanted, denied the offence and needed to keep working to support his children. The judge acknowledged his ties to The Bahamas, including his two young daughters and his self-employment selling fresh coconut water and coconut jelly. However, she said those circumstances did not outweigh the concerns over the charge and the possible penalty.

On delay, Justice Grant-Thompson noted that the alleged incident happened on August 14 and Storr was arrested the next day. She said the case was only two months old and there was no basis to conclude he would not receive a fair trial within a reasonable time.

The judge said Storr’s previous convictions were all spent and could not be taken into account, and she described him as a man of “virtual” good character.

She also made clear that a bail hearing was not the place to decide whether the alleged sexual encounter was consensual or whether Storr is guilty. Justice Grant-Thompson said there was material to establish a reasonable suspicion that he committed the offence, but the disputed facts would have to be decided at trial.

Storr is accused of raping the woman twice in New Providence on August 14. Police said at the time that the woman lost consciousness while travelling with a male driver and two other passengers shortly after 4am. She told investigators she came to sometime after 6am and was told by the driver that she was home. After leaving the vehicle, she realised she had been sexually assaulted and reported it.

The case drew widespread attention after the voice notes circulated on social media. Police confirmed the recordings were under investigation.

When Storr was first arraigned in August, the hearing was closed to the public. Ms Fox was allowed inside, and she was moved to tears and urged her son to pray before he was taken into custody.