FORMER Guyana Defence Force (GDF) soldier, Winston Haynes, called ‘Carlos’, who was on trial for allegedly raping a woman in 2017, on Tuesday, left the courtroom a free man after Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall upheld a no-case submission made by his attorney.

Haynes appeared before the Sexual Offences Court in the Demerara High Court for allegedly raping a 21-year-old woman in January 2017 at Army Base Camp Stephenson, Timehri, East Bank Demerara. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

His attorney, Ravindra Mohabir, made a no-case submission and called for the indictment to be dismissed on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

The judge later upheld the submission and said that the state had failed to establish a case against Haynes. She then ordered the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.

Haynes calmly exited the courtroom after being told he was “free to go.”

It is alleged that the young woman was taken to the GDF base in an army vehicle and then escorted to a room where she was assaulted. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had recommended that only Haynes be charged, even though two other ranks were also implicated.

Following the alleged incident, a Board of Inquiry was set up to determine the facts of the allegations and “whether the crime was committed.”

At the conclusion of the inquiry, the three ranks were dismissed. According to the findings and recommendations of the inquiry, the ranks were found to be not only in contravention of the Security Standing Orders but also a number of other Standing Operating Procedures of the Force.