Susan Harding, mother of the man allegedly raped by ranks at the Timehri Police Station with a baton, on Friday mounted a protest, calling for justice after the matter was thrown out of the Providence Magistrate’s Court.
Colwyn Harding
Protesting outside the Appeal Court, the woman reiterated her call on behalf of her son Colwyn Harding, 23, for justice.
The matter was dismissed due to the lack of evidence when it was called last month. But it was also dismissed because of the non-attendance of the state prosecutor, and the late attendance of the Virtual Complainant (VC), at hearings.
According to Harding’s mother, Magistrate Leron Daily had no grounds to dismiss the case.
“She had no grounds what-so-ever to dismiss that case whether or not he was absent from Court or he was late for court; it should not have been thrown out of the court” the disappointed woman complained.
She noted that on numerous occasions the two accused Police officers, who were granted bail, frequently absented themselves from Court, but neither were they disciplined or was an arrest warrant issued.
Harding’s mother disclosed that she is calling for disciplinary action to be taken against Magistrate Daily, noting that the matter was dismissed without the VC being given an opportunity to complete his testimony.
“Colwyn was the first person in the witness box and he was still being cross examined by the attorney for the two accused, so he was not completely out of the witness box” she explained.
According to the woman, she has already approached the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, whom she said has already appealed the matter to be brought before the High Court.
Harding’s mother noted that her son was raped and deserves justice, adding “there are witnesses that can attest to this fact”.
She highlighted that under the Sexual Offenses Act tabled in 2010, as long as consent is not given when a sexual act is carried out, it is rape. “Whether it is a penis or it is an object, its rape. In this case, a baton covered with a condom was used on Colwyn Harding maliciously and it really damaged him a lot and he is still suffering, he needs justice”.
According to reports, the two officers based at the Timehri Police Station allegedly pushed a condom-covered baton up Harding’s anus in November, 2013.
Harding, who was at the time a prisoner on remand for allegedly assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, suffered a ruptured intestine.
However, some doctors had also reported that they did not see any signs of sexual abuse to support Harding’s allegations. They noted that they observed the man to be suffering from an intestinal infection and condition.
Harding later underwent two private examinations, one at a hospital in Guyana and the other in Jamaica and the conclusion from both examinations was that a foreign object had been inserted into his anus.
