A Berbice Assizes mixed jury returned a majority verdict of guilty in the proportion of eleven to one, convicting 41-year-old child rapist Horold Naurayan for penetrating the vagina of a six-year-old girl between February 1 and April 27, 2013.Moments after the verdict was delivered on Tuesday, Justice Brassington Reynolds overruled Naurayan’s application for bail made by Defence Counsel Raymond Ali, and remanded the convict until April 13, when a probation report, plea and mitigation would be heard, and a custodial sentence would be imposed.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs. Judith Mursalin, had earlier vigorously objected to Naurayan’s pre-trial liberty on ground that the convict is no longer presumed innocent.

“Your Honour, as soon as he is found guilty he is supposed to be remanded. He is no longer presumed to be innocent. He is found guilty by the jurors of his peers.

“Mr. Naurayan has been enjoying his liberty for the last two years. During this time, the victim and her family continued to agonise over the unfortunate incident. He must be made to suffer the penalties provided by the Act [Sexual],” Mrs Mursalin emphasised.

In his bail application, Ali had pleaded for pre-trial liberty on ground that his client had unfinished business regarding the welfare of his children.
Additionally, the lawyer said his client had attended his court proceedings, and would surrender his passport, report to the police station, and would not be in contact with the victim.

However, Justice Reynolds, in refusing the application, noted that Mr. Naurayan was expected to have made arrangements for his personal administration, having anticipated a negative outcome to the case.

Addressing the jury, State Counsel Mursalin noted: “Out of the mouths of babes cometh forth truth. Her mother must be complemented for ending the relationship after she was confronted with the fact that her six-year-old daughter was violated by someone who should have protected her.”

In a sworn statement from the witness stand, the burly convict recalled that during the month of February he was at sea, but returned home the following month. He recalled watching television when he heard a three-year-old boy speaking to his mother. The victim was consequently flogged by her mother, who was in tears just before leaving her home. Moments after, he was contacted by the police.

However, he [Naurayan] visited Central Police Station accompanied by a lawyer. He denied committing the offence.

The State’s case was that between February 1 and April 27, 2013, Naurayan was watching television and the child had gone to the home, where she changed her outfit. Whilst there, Naurayan, lifted her on a table in the kitchen, pulled off her underwear, and pushed his penis into her vagina. The victim complained of pain, but Naurayan threatened that if she told her mother, she would be flogged.

Five witnesses testified, including Dr Kester Persaud, who explained the findings of the medical certificate; Constable Dwayne Brathwaite, who investigated the report; and Special Constable Alicia August, who escorted the victim to the hospital, where she was examined.

Meanwhile, prior to the testimony of the now eight-year-old girl, the judge conducted a voire dire, and thereafter ruled that she was competent to give sworn testimony.

The media was barred from the earlier hearings, and the victim was screened from the accused in keeping with sections of the Sexual Offences Act.

By Jeune Vankeric