SEINE BIGHT, Stann Creek District, Mon. June 3, 2019– A boy, 16, of Seine Bight, who robbed and attempted to rape an American tourist, will not be charged. The American visitor told police that on Tuesday morning, May 28, while doing a morning run from Placencia to Seine Bight, a man came up to her and grabbed her private parts and threw her in the bushes, and attempted to take off her pants, but she struggled with him and fought him off.
The woman, 28, jogged to Placencia and went to the police, where she made the report and identified her would-be rapist from a photo identification presented by the police. The woman then returned to her country.
The suspect was picked up in Seine Bight that same Tuesday morning, and when he was searched, police found the victim’s cell phone in his pocket.
Reliable information to us is that the would-be rapist was detained, but had to be released without charges.
Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, on Friday, said that when he was informed of the attempted rape and robbery of the American tourist and was told that she was returning to her country, he immediately sent police to the Philip Goldson Airport to get a statement from her before she departed, but a Justice of the Peace (JP) had to have been present to witness the statement.
No JP was available to them, however, and so, the statement was not sufficient to present to court without the Justice of the Peace as witness.
ComPol Williams also said that the picture identification would not be sufficient, because an identification parade would have been mandatory, and since the victim had left the country, that could not happen.
Compol Williams said that although the victim’s phone was found with her attacker, the victim would have to come and identify her phone and give a further statement.
The file has since been sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution for her advice.
Compol Williams said that he is both an attorney and the Commissioner of Police and he uses his legal understanding to guide the actions of himself and the police, and that proper evidence is needed to get a conviction in court, which they don’t have.