Convicted rapist acquitted of 2 child rape charges

Convicted child rapist Mark Campbell was on Tuesday afternoon acquitted of raping another boy when his case came up before Sexual Offences Court Judge Simone Morris Ramlall.
The unrepresented accused was indicted on two counts of child sexual activity with a family member in a case that was presented by State Prosecutors Orinthia Schmidt and Shawnette Austin.

The 12-member jury returned an 11-1 not guilty verdict on the first count after three hours of deliberations. The jury was, however, unable to reach a formal verdict on the second count, and Justice Ramlall announced that it was up to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to decide if Campbell would face another trial.
Guyana Times was told that the incidents allegedly occurred in the county of Demerara during September 2011 and July 2013 when the child was three and five years old respectively. The particulars of the charges contended that the acts were allegedly penetrative in nature.
Campbell walked out of court smiling, but he would remain incarcerated having been sentenced to 30 years in prison in October last year for raping another male family member who was seven and eight when he was violated in 2011 and 2013.
At that trial in 2017, the jury had unanimously found Campbell guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child that was left in his care by a mother who was working nights. At that time, Campbell, who was unrepresented, claimed that he did not receive a fair trial.