CASES AGAINST LAKE AND HARRIGAN DISCONTINUED

When the criminal matters against Alex Lake and Robelto Harrigan were called before Acting Magistrate Cecil Dawson on April 13, Shona Griffith senior Crown Counsel representing the Commissioner of Police indicated to the Court that after consultation with the Attorney General, the state was discontinuing its case against the two young men accused of rape and robbery contrary to sections 117 and 210 of the criminal code, and also withdrawing the complaint against the two men.

While the senior Counsel did not indicate the reasons for the withdrawal of the complaint, the case has been called on six occasions since the young men were charged on 29 October 2003 and the complainant, who was a visitor to the BVI when the offences were alleged to have been committed, has never appeared in Court.

On the last occasion when the matter was called, Mr. Terrance Neale appearing for the defendants with Ms Heather Tull, applied to the Court for the cases to be dismissed on the basis that the length of the delay to hear the matter was prejudicial to the defendants and the fact that the prosecution had not given a plausible reason for the delay.

With the decision of the Crown to discontinue the proceedings and withdraw the complaints, the two young men are exonerated from these offences which had cast a shadow over their future and reputation in the BVI. Prior to the allegations and charges against them both men were employed with a clean police record. The young men, both under 25, were at all times steadfast in their denial of any wrongdoing that led to the accusations, and feel vindicated at the discontinuance of the charges against them.