Man charged with sexual assault of minor in Trinidad, eight years after incident

Trinidad and Tobago: A man who was caught 14 years ago sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl has been finally found guilty by a nine-member jury on Monday, June 24, 2024.

The accused came before Justice Kathy Ann Waterman Latchoo and the jury took the session for almost an hour before giving the guilty verdict for the incident which took place on April 10, 2010, in La Horquetta.

According to the information, on April 10, 2010, the then 8-year-old was playing football with her cousin, and the accused, who was aged 17 at that time, was present there. After some time, the minor decided to go inside the residence to have some water.

The accused then followed her inside the kitchen and subsequently started to remove the minor’s pants and underwear before sexually assaulting her.

As the girl started to cry and tried to push off the suspect, her brother-in-law entered the kitchen and saw the male carrying out the brutal act.

The suspect then immediately fled the scene, went to his home, and confessed in front of his mother and aunt to committing the crime.

The police officers were called, and the suspect was later charged with the offense, but he pleaded not guilty when the matter arose for the trial and denied that he had committed the sexual assault.

He stated in front of the court that he was in the kitchen with the girl but noted that he was helping her get a cup of water when the cup suddenly fell on the ground.

He continued to say that as he bent in front of her to pick up the cup, the girl’s brother in law walked in at the same time and suspected something wrong.

The accused also claimed that the lights were off, and it was only when the lights were switched on by the girl’s brother-in-law that he realized that she was standing naked in front of him.

The jury finally found him guilty of the crime and charged him with several offenses of sexual assault.