RAPE accused Devon Mc Farlene, called ‘Kang’, who had allegedly raped a 26-year-old security guard and mother of three at gunpoint one night in January 2009, was yesterday freed of the offence by an 11 to one jury verdict in the Demerara Assizes.
When the case resumed yesterday morning, Justice Roxanne George devoted 2 ½ hours to addressing the mixed jury of five women and seven men, directing them on the facts and the law before handing over the case to them for their consideration and verdict.
After having lunch, they spent 2 ½ hours to reach a majority verdict of not guilty in the aforementioned proportion, following which Justice George discharged the accused, telling him he was a lucky man.
However before discharging him, she pointed out that the case was a difficult one which involved recognition and identification.
The victim had told the police that, with the aid of street lights, she had recognized her attacker, the accused, as a man related to her husband, whose birthday party she and her husband had attended.
But on the night of the attack, she had told her husband that her attacker was a man about five feet, six inches tall, with a ‘natty’ hair style. She never told her husband, “I know the man, he is related to you.”
According to the victim, the rapist had a long, rusty gun, and that early in the morning had paraded her along the street to her husband’s home in search of gold and money.
But having found that her  husband was at home with the three children, he had abandoned the original plan and had ordered her to follow him back to an unfinished concrete building, where “he raped me” she explained.
According to her, the rapist committed the act from behind her; he had asked her “to stand in front of him and place my hands on the building. He then raped me, assuring me that he would not come inside of me, since I had told him that I had a small baby to nurse.”
In fairness to her, she had said that while he was committing the rape, the gun was on the ground not far away, and that she was fearful for her life.
The accused was successfully defended by Mr. Ronald Burch-Smith.
Conducting the prosecution’s case were Miss Retina Singh and Senior State Counsel Mrs. Judith Gildharie-Mursalin.