FORTY-THREE-YEAR old Arjune Reddi was Tuesday spared a jail sentence after the virtual complainant in a sexual activity with a child case failed to attend the Berbice Assizes.The unrepresented Reddi appeared before Justice Franklyn Holder where he pleaded not guilty to the indictment, which stated that between February 17, 2010 and December 31, 2010 at Albion Village, Corentyne, he engaged in sexual penetration of a ten-year old girl.

Further, a second indictment revealed that between January 1 and 31, 2014, he sexually penetrated the same complainant, at that time aged 13 years.

Following his plea of not guilty, State Prosecutor informed the court that she was unable to lead any evidence as the virtual complainant could not be contacted.

On a previous occasion the teenager, had been contacted and her relatives had promised that she would have been brought to court. But she never appeared. Consequently, the judge ordered the mixed jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty in favour of the accused.