Rape trial aborted – accused stepfather fled from justice
JUSTICE James Bovell-Drakes, the presiding judge in the carnal knowledge

Case where accused Patrick Narine was on trial for raping his then 7-year-old stepdaughter in 2003, yesterday aborted the trial and issued a bench warrant for the accused who had fled from justice.

When caught, the runaway accused will be kept in custody until the rehearing of his trial.

The accused who had pleaded not guilty and was conducting his own defence at the beginning of the trial retained a lawyer midway in the proceedings.

But in the final stages, when he was about to begin his defence, he did not turn up in Court and reported that he had been admitted in hospital with malaria.

Enquiries revealed that the accused who was on bail, disappeared from the hospital and refused to attend court to continue his trial.

As a consequence the trial which has occupied the better part of the June Sessions, had to be aborted by the judge who, as a result, had to discharge the jury without calling on them for a verdict.

It was learnt that police stations on the West Coast of Demerara were alerted, but up to late yesterday the accused had not been caught although Prosecutor Mr. Ganesh, had seen him crossing the road to his (accused) home with a bag of coconuts.

Mr. Hira said that on seeing the accused he had alerted the police of a nearby station who pointed out that their patrol vehicle was otherwise engaged.

The accused is said to have had carnal knowledge of the then 7-year old girl one night in April, 2003, while her mother was away from home after being hospitalised because of an injury from a fall.

The case for the prosecution, as led by Miss Prithima Kissoon from the DPP chambers, is to the effect that the girl was asleep on the same bed with her smaller brothers that night when the stepfather lifted her to another bed where he stripped her and committed the offence.

On Tuesday, the accused was expected to begin his defence and to decide whether he would make use of two prosecution witnesses which the prosecution did not wish to call, when the judge learnt that the accused was admitted in hospital with malaria. Investigations revealed that the accused was indeed in hospital but later took his own discharge.

This morning the Judge is expected to start another trial.