SCHOOL teacher Wazir Khan, who was sentenced last month to three years imprisonment and fined $1 million for the sexual assault of an underage girl, is now challenging his conviction and sentence. On November 26, Khan was convicted by Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court for the offence, which read that, on March 9, 2019, he engaged in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16, abusing a position of trust. Dissatisfied with the Magistrate’s decision, Khan, through his attorney Dexter Todd, has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal arguing that his conviction cannot stand. He is asking that his sentence be set aside.
According to the court documents seen by this newspaper, one of the grounds for appeal is that the Magistrate showed unconstrained human emotions with the victim’s evidence, which led to her erring in law. Another ground stated that the Magistrate made an error of law when she considered that there was a “strong suspicion” that Khan may have committed the offence. This suspicion, the document read, could not justify upholding a conviction in all the circumstances of the present case. Lastly, Khan requested an early hearing of his appeal. Todd is expected to approach the High Court on Friday to seek bail for khan pending his appeal.