– Judge advises man freed of 2010 rape charge

BISNAUTH Mohamed, 22, walked out the Demerara High Court a free man on Monday (January 14, 2019), after a 12-member jury found him not guilty of the rape of a child, under 16 years of age

The foreman announced, in the Sexual Offences Court before Justice Joe-Ann Barlow, that the verdict was unanimous. The jury had deliberated for several hours and the accused was found not guilty of the offence for which he stood indicted.

In response, Justice Barlow told Mohamed that, being a young man, he should continue to stay in the right direction since, from 2010 to the present, there was nothing to suggest to the court that he had been doing otherwise.

The judge encouraged him to ‘keep straight’ and he should see the verdict as a blessing.

According to the state, Mohamed was accused of the rape of a child under the age 16, between September1 and September 30, 2010, in the County of Demerara. The child was five years at the time.

The State was represented by Lisa Cave in association with Sarah Martin, while the defence attorney was Maxwell McKay.