By George Barclay

THE jury will Monday retire to make a decision in the rape case against Intocan Santool. The victim said that her husband was at work and she was alone at home washing dishes on November 25, 2009, when Intcocan Santool raped her.
The victim said that she tried to fight off the man, who was attired in a vest, but he was able to overpower her.
According to the woman, Santool succeeded in penetrating her vagina before her husband, whom she had called when she saw the man riding in the area on a motor bike, turned up in time to see the intruder in the house.
The victim said that the accused attacked her partner with a hatchet, but her husband was not hurt. Santool was able to escape.
When apprehended by the police, Santool gave the impression that he and the woman were friendly and had sex about seven times in the past.
Detective Corporal Noris Harry told Justice Jo-Ann Barlow and the jury that in 2009 he was attached to the La Grange Police Station on the West Bank of Demerara.
He contacted the accused, who was in custody at the La Grange Police Station, cautioned him and told him of his rights.
The witness said that immediately after, the accused said to him: “Me and she had an affair. About six to seven times we had sex. That day the husband came and catch she – I did not rape she.”
The victim said that she was alone at home on the day in question when she rang her husband, who was working as a carpenter, and told him about the man who was moving in the area near the house on a motor bike.
The victim said that she heard the footsteps of her husband entering the house. She said the accused collected a hatchet and went towards her husband, but according to her the husband was not hurt.
When the hearing continued yesterday, the prosecution closed its case.
Called upon for a defence, the accused in answer to the judge, elected to begin his defence with an unsworn statement from the dock in which he highlighted having a secret love affair with a woman, whose husband turned up home earlier than usual, causing her to yell “Rape,” in an effort to save her character.
The accused repeated his claim that on the day in question he was having sex with the woman with her consent.
Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos did not call any witnesses, but elected to address the jury, urging them to find that the alleged victim was a liar and that his client who was found in a consensual affair, should be found not guilty.
Prosecutrix Shonnete Austin, delivering her final address to the jury, urged them to find that the accused did in fact rape the victim at her home.
As such, she called on the jury to find that the prosecution had established the burden of proof placed upon it to provide a prima facie case against the accused for rape, in keeping with the evidence and the oath they had taken.
The further hearing will continue on Monday when Justice Jo-Ann Barlow will sum up the evidence to the jury and later hand over the case to them for their consideration and verdict.