Accused ‘serial rapist’ claims breach of rights amid 12-year wait for trial
Published:Sunday | March 30, 2025 | 12:06 AMJanet Silvera - Sunday Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
A St James man accused of being a “serial rapist” is now suing the Government of Jamaica for breaching his constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time.
Jermaine Bowen, now approximately 35 years old, has been in state custody since 2013 and contends that nearly 12 years have passed without his case being fully tried.
In a constitutional claim filed in the Supreme Court last Monday, Bowen is seeking a permanent stay of prosecution and is also requesting damages, arguing that the state’s prolonged delay in bringing him to trial amounts to an abuse of the court’s process. The Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions are named as defendants in the suit.
Pleaded guilty
to two counts
Court documents outline that Bowen, who was charged in 2013 with seven counts of rape, three counts of robbery with aggravation, and other offences, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and served a 10-year prison sentence. However, he has remained in custody for the remaining charges, which have yet to be tried. He is being held at the Freeport Police Station in Montego Bay, St James, having recently been transferred from the St Catherine Adult Correctional Centre.
Bowen’s criminal history gained national attention in 2013, when, at age 23, he was first charged with abduction and rape. He was granted bail in April of that year but was rearrested shortly after for seven alleged rapes. Reports at the time indicated that Bowen, a lifeguard from Glendevon, St James, was found in possession of a 9mm pistol and a magazine containing nine rounds. He was charged with seven counts of rape and illegal possession of a firearm. The arrest followed investigations led by the St James arm of the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA).
Bowen now argues that despite the seriousness of the allegations, the near 12-year delay without trial has compromised his constitutional rights and cast doubt on the state’s ability to fairly and timely prosecute the matter.
In his affidavit, Bowen states at paragraph 76: “Also, while in custody, I have witnessed inmates having gone through their first trial process, engaged the appellate court to have their convictions overturned and have been retried with two batch of separate empanelled jurors while I have not had the benefit of a single trial in almost 12 years.”
He furthered stated: “Even in custody, some of the police officers refer to me as ‘hundred years’ given the long time I am waiting to have my matters heard and determined.”
Bowen, who claims to have been a practising Muslim for the past eight years while incarcerated, is reported to have furthered his studies while in prison, passing Caribbean Examinations Council subjects.
Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner on Friday, Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn confirmed that her office had been made aware of the claim.
“We will research the matter fully”
“As is the practice, we will research the matter fully and prepare ourselves to mount a vigorous and robust response to the claim,” Llewellyn stated.
Efforts to reach Bowen’s attorney-at-law, Maurice McCurdy, for further comment have so far been unsuccessful.