FORTY-six-year-old Jerry Jugmohan ‘threw in the towel’ after spending the previous night deliberating on the evidence of an 86-year-old woman whom he was accused of raping on February 25, 2009 at Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne.

After pleading not guilty to the offence, and after listening to the evidence of the victim, the accused, who was unrepresented by counsel, was granted an adjournment by Justice Franklyn Holder to facilitate his cross-examining the witness.

On resumption of the trial, Jugmohan had a change of heart and pleaded guilty to the lesser count of attempted rape, which was accepted by State Prosecutrix Natasha Backer.

After a tongue lashing from the Judge, he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for the offence.

Before the adjournment, the petite elderly victim, who lived alone, was led in her evidence by Ms. Backer. She told the mixed assizes jury that she was asleep when she was awakened by a noise from her front window at about 02:00 hrs on February 25, 2009. The pensioner had known the accused for several years prior to the incident, and they had conversed before.

As she got up to investigate, she met Jugmohan in the hallway. Her electric lights were on, and she recognised him instantly. She shouted in an effort to alert her daughter, who lives a house lot away, but Jugmohan muzzled her mouth before dragging her down the stairway and raping her beneath the house.

Prosecutrix Backer revealed that the medical certificate was not tendered into evidence to support the allegation of rape; thus the plea of attempted rape was accepted.

When the case was initially heard at the Mibicuri Magistrate’s Court, it was discharged; but, in 2013, Jugmohan was recharged. And after a prima facie case was made out against him, he was granted pre-trial liberty but was unable to post bail, and had been a committal prisoner from December 2013 until he was convicted last Thursday, June 4.