Teenaged murder-accused takes stepfather to court

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Parent Category: Dec 2011

Category: Week ending Dec 24th, 2011

Published on Tuesday, 27 December 2011 09:11

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The State has brought a charge of indecent assault on the stepfather of the 17-year old secondary school student accused of killing her 3-year old sister on November 6.

The charge was laid on Victor Brathwaite of Rivulet Lane, Grenville, St. Andrew's after the police were satisfied of having sufficient evidence to bring a case of  sexually molesting his step-daughter on November 1.

A police insider told The New Today Newspaper the charge was laid on the 36-year old mason last week. Brathwaite is currently on bail in the sum of $10,000.00 with two sureties. He is due to appear in court on February 14, 2012.

The charge itself came weeks after the teenager who resides at St. George's Estate allegedly killed her three-year old sibling, Sharian Charles. Charles, the daughter of the teenager's stepfather, who was reported to be missing was found with wet clothes and froth coming from her nostrils and mouth, in bushes close to the family's home.

A post mortem conducted on the body concluded that the child died from asphyxiation.

At the time of the incident, The New Today Newspaper learnt that the teenaged Secondary School Student had apparently acted out of frustration in commiting the act against the younger sister since no one was listening to her complaints of allegedly being molested by her stepfather.

A source who had an indepth conversation with the 17-year old shortly after she was brought to court on the charge of murder indicated that the young lady had certain domestic issues in her life and no one was helping her to deal with.

The source who did not wish to be identified told this newspaper he spent almost one hour with the murder-accused who was bathing in tears and she related to him some instances of sexual molestations by a close family member without anyone coming to her assistance.

He said the young lady informed him that she had related her domestic problem with a counselor at the school she was attending but was told to take the matter to the police.

"When she (the student) went to the police, the police tell her go and get an adult," he added. The source who is knowledgeable in legal matters felt it was the responsibility of the school to have taken that matter to the police and not to leave the child alone to handle the issue.

The Houses of Parliament recently passed a Bill that makes it mandatory for reporting cases of sexual abuses. The 17-year old murder-accused is currently on $50,000 bail with two sureties.

She is being taken care of by an unknown guardian. The Preliminary Inquiry into the circumstances that lead to the death of the three-year old infant has already started at the St. George's Number One Magistrate's Court before chief Magistrate Tamara Gill.

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