The Tribune

By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter 

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A WOMAN told the Supreme Court she sat crying in the spot where a man she once regarded as a brother forced himself on her in his car near South Beach Pools, then ran into her father's arms when he arrived.

The 27-year-old complainant, whose name is being withheld, was giving evidence in the rape trial of Raheim Colebrooke, 29, before Justice Neil Braithwaite yesterday. Prosecutors allege Colebrooke raped her on June 17, 2023.

She said that on the night of the incident the two went to a bar across from Epic Battery on Fire Trail Road. On the way home, she said, Colebrooke took a detour to South Beach Pools and parked in the parking lot.

He told her he needed to use the bathroom and left her alone in the car for about five minutes, she said. When he came back, she said, he tried to get her out of the car, and she refused. She told the court he then got into the car, forced himself on her and raped her. She said it lasted about 10 to 15 minutes.

She said she was in shock afterwards and stayed crying in the same spot where he had forced her.

She said she was not sure where she was after the assault, but that when he dropped her at her grandmother's house in Pinewood Gardens, she ran from the car. She locked the door and called her father, who lived in the Seven Hills area. She then took off her clothes and put them in a plastic bag as evidence.

Later, she said, she ran into her father's arms crying, around the time the police arrived. She could not recall how long it took him to reach her.

The complainant said Colebrooke texted her afterwards but that she did not reply.

Under cross-examination by defence attorney Quintin Percentie, she said she could not recall exactly what time events happened, but disagreed that this was because she was drunk.

Mr Percentie suggested she would have passed a police station on the way home and asked why she had not tried to signal anyone. She said she was in shock that someone she knew had attacked her in a way she did not think he was capable of.

The defence said her father had received a call from her at around 11.30pm that night. She said she could not recall the time.

She agreed that Colebrooke sometimes lived with her at her home in Grand Bahama, and that they once had a brother and sister-like relationship. When Mr Percentie said Colebrooke had lived with his grandparents at one point, she said she did not know them.

She denied ever kissing Colebrooke in Freeport.

She agreed that she attended a police confrontation with Colebrooke, during which she told him to block her on social media. Asked whether she had blocked him on Facebook, she said she could not recall, but that she had blocked him on WhatsApp.

She said Colebrooke knew her boyfriend, but denied ever telling him that her boyfriend was cheating on her.

The complainant remained calm and even-tempered throughout cross-examination.

Tylah Murray, Ashton Williams and Khaula Reid are prosecuting. Shequel R McPhee is also representing Colebrooke.

The trial continues.