…victim burst into tears
A labourer who had been accused of raping a school teacher at her Corentyne home between November 2 and 3, 2017 was on Monday set free by a mixed Berbice jury.
The 7-5 male majority jury returned the verdict after more than two hours of deliberation.
Sunil Sundar of Yakusari, Black Bush Polder had been accused of raping the teacher.
During the trial, State Prosecutor Mondel Moore called seven witnesses, including four Police officers, the victim and her husband.
The victim related the incident to the court, saying that on the night in question she heard the door open and thought it was her husband. It was shortly after midnight she recounted.
The woman detailed to the court the heinous act, and also told the court that when Sundar had left, she reached for a cellular phone and realised that it was stolen.
She also told the court she was able to inform relatives and also name the perpetrator.
The woman’s husband told the court that he and Sundar were working in the backdam and were having a drink. He related that Sundar disappeared and never returned.
The prosecution’s case was that Sundar left the woman’s husband in the backdam and went to the house, knowing that the woman was alone at home.
Initially, upon his arrest, Sundar had admitted to the act, claiming that it was consensual.
In an unsworn statement, he repeated the story to the court, and claimed that as he was leaving the house, the woman saw two of his friends and it was then she claimed that she was raped.
The victim did not go into the courtroom to hear the verdict, but remained outside. Following the not-guilty verdict, she broke down in tears.
Her father told this newscast that the judicial system is unfair. “I feel very bad; very, very bad. The decision is not right, if a person gets rape, and you go through all that process to have the accused to go before the court, and then at the end of it he gets off.”
He said the decision means that the lives of other females are in danger, as he pointed out other incidents as he referred to Sundar.
Meanwhile, Sundar was taken back to the New Amsterdam prison, where he is on remand for a break-and-enter charge. That matter is engaging the attention of the Magistrate’s Court.
