Freedom for father

A father accused of a horrific sexual assault on his then four-year-old son, amid an on-going visitation rights tussle with his former common-law partner, has been freed after a judge, in a rare exercise of judicial discretion, withdrew the case from jurors and directed them to return a verdict of not guilty.

The father walked out of the St Ann Circuit Court a free man on Tuesday after a month-long trial on charges of grievous sexual assault and child abuse, which have been lingering over his head for five years.

His name is being withheld to protect the identity of the child, who is now nine years old.

The charges were tossed out after the High Court judge who presided over the trial sided with legal arguments by Oswest Senior-Smith, the attorney for the exonerated father, that a jury, properly directed, could not “safely” convict his client on the evidence that was before the court.

At the start of the trial, prosecutors, citing a report made to the police by the child’s mother, claimed that the father placed a piece of tape over his son’s mouth, kicked him in the mouth, then placed his penis in it, according to documents seen by The Gleaner.

Trials involving sex-related crimes are not open to the public.

The ‘incident’ occurred on February 16, 2020 at the father’s home while other family members were there, according to the court documents.

The father, who is also a businessman, “resolutely” denied the allegations, testifying during the trial that the four-year-old was running on a wet floor that was being mopped when he fell and hit his mouth, resulting in minor injuries, including bleeding from the mouth.

His attorneys also claimed in court that the child was being manipulated to make the false allegations.

February 16, 2020 was one of the few days when the child’s mother complied with a standing order by the Family Court that the child should spend Saturdays with his father, according to Senior-Smith.

The Family Court later changed the visitation day to Sundays.

The father testified that following the mishap inside his home, he and other family members transported his injured son to the St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital about 1 p.m. the same day, where he was treated and later returned to his mother with an explanation of how he got injured.

The prosecution’s case began to unravel last Thursday after the presiding judge, in yet another rare exercise of judicial discretion, allowed Senior-Smith to reopen his case.

The High Court judge had already shut down submissions by Senior-Smith that there was no case for his client to answer; heard closing arguments from both prosecutors; and commenced her summation of the evidence for the seven-member jury, when the application was made.

Senior-Smith explained that the request was made after he discovered that medical records related to the boy’s visit to the St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital were delivered to the court office on June 5 without his knowledge.

The records were subpoenaed early on in the trial.

The child’s mother, who was cross-examined when Senior-Smith reopened his case, acknowledged that a new order was issued by the Family Court on January 5, 2022 compelling her to hand over the four-year-old to his father four days later on January 9.

Senior-Smith noted that two days before she was to comply with the order, the mother took the four-year-old to the police unit that investigates sex crimes and child abuse, where she reported the alleged sexual assault.

Two doctors who treated the young child at the St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital reportedly gave evidence during cross-examination on Monday that the boy was taken back to the health facility by his mother about 8 p.m., seven hours after he was taken there for treatment by his father.

One of the doctors reportedly gave evidence that the child indicated that he injured his mouth in a fall, but said his mother was adamant that he was abused by his father.

Citing the new evidence, Senior-Smith asked the judge to toss out the case, arguing that no jury could safely convict his client based on the evidence.

livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com