– to face trial for indecent assault
TWENTY-one year old Kenneth Gilbert, on trial for carnal knowledge and indecent assault allegedly committed on a six- year- old girl, was yesterday found not guilty of having carnal knowledge with the girl, but the judge ordered him to face trial for the second count of  indecent assault. The jury’s verdict came from a direction from Justice Roxanne George following a voir dire (a trial within a trial) which she conducted in the absence of the jury, and found that the prosecution’s evidence was not supportive of the carnal knowledge offence.
After the six year old girl, now 11, had refused to testify against the accused on the ground that she could not remember what had happened in 2006, when she was  six, lead prosecutor Miss Konyo Sandiford was inclined to withdraw the carnal knowledge offence,  but was contending that there were witnesses whose testimony supported the second count of indecent  assault.
Justice George, who also heard arguments  in the voir dire pertaining to the offence of indecent assault, also heard evidence during the original trial concerning both offences, and therefore had no alternative than to call on the accused for a defence in respect to indecent assault.
According to law, indecent assault carries a penalty of two years.
The accused, who was a juvenile at the time of the offence, consulted his lawyers, Mr. George Thomas and Mr.  James Bond, and elected to begin his defence with an unsworn statement from the dock.
He denied committing the offence as alleged, and said that he was worried when the mother of the girl alleged that he had committed the offence on her daughter.
The mother said that on the day in question, she had bathed her daughter and put her to sleep in a chair at their home. She said that she too was sleeping, and when she awoke she saw the accused with his pants down, and masturbating near to  her daughter who was lying on the chair with her underwear pulled down and  with a white substance between her legs.
The mother had also said that the girl had bruises around her vagina. And in her report to the police, she blamed the accused for interfering with her daughter.
Witnesses will not be called for the defence.
Attorney-at-Law Mr. James Bond will address the jury this morning, after which Prosecutor Sandiford will reply on behalf of the prosecution.
Justice George said that she would sum up the evidence on Monday after which she would hand over the case to the jury for their consideration and verdict.