A Police Constable and a security guard who were charged with kidnapping, raping and attempting to kill an 18-year-old Venezuelan woman in 2020, were cleared of the charges after a High Court Master found there was insufficient evidence to have them face trial.
Special Reserve PC Akini Rodriguez, 26, of Dibe, Long Circular, St James, and Aaron Ramkissoon, 20, of Waterhole, Cocorite, were discharged at the conclusion of a sufficiency hearing before Master Kimitria Gray.
In delivering her ruling, Master Gray held that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had failed to present sufficient evidence to justify the matter proceeding to trial before a High Court judge and jury, or by judge alone.
Based on this, the men were formally discharged.
The case followed a report made in August 2020 by the Venezuelan national, who was living in Siparia at the time.
According to the allegations, the teenager said she had entered a vehicle in Debe, which she believed to be a taxi, and asked to be taken to San Fernando. She claimed that instead of being driven to her destination, she was taken to a secluded area, where she was raped by the driver and a passenger.
The woman further alleged that after the incident, she was thrown from the vehicle along the M2 Ring Road in Debe.
Passing motorists came to her assistance and she was later taken to the San Fernando General Hospital for medical treatment.
Rodriguez and Ramkisoon were jointly charged with kidnapping, rape and attempted murder.
Both men maintained their innocence throughout the proceedings.
-FRANCIS JOSEPH
